The protests at Cannes Film Festival continue, as 16 black actresses took to the red carpet on Wednesday night to protest racism.
This fight for diversity in the French film industry followed Monday’s call for gender equality conducted by Cate Blanchett, Kristen Stewart, and 82 other women.
Wednesday’s march was led by actress Aïssa Maïga (“Bamako”) who, along with the group, stood together and promoted Maiga’s co-authored book Noire N’est Pas Mon Métier (My Profession is Not Black), a compilation of candid stories about the prejudice faced by black actresses in the French film industry.
The actress spoke with Variety on the red carpet and called it a “historic moment.”
“It was beyond my wildest dreams,” she said. “For 20 years, I’ve been acting and I’ve never felt like this.”
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She added, “This was a statement we wanted to make to the entire world.”
The group included Maiga, Beausson-Diagne, Mata Gabin, Maimouna Gueye, Eye Haidara, Rachel Khan, Sara Martins, Marie-Philomene Nga, Sabine Pakora, Firmine Richard, Sonia Rolland, Magaajyia Silberfeld, Shirley Souagnon, Assa Sylla, Karidja Toure, and France Zobda.
