CANNES, France : The Cannes Film Festival is coming under scrutiny for its strict dress code after women not wearing high heels were turned away from a premiere.
Many are criticizing the festival after Screen International reported that several middle-aged women were refused entry to Sunday’s premiere of Todd Haynes’ ’50s lesbian romance Carol for wearing flats.
On Tuesday, actress Emily Blunt called the report “very disappointing, obviously.”
“Everyone should wear flats, to be honest, at the best of times” said Blunt, who was there to premiere the Mexican drug war thriller Sicario. “You kind of think that there’s these new waves of equality.”
Director Denis Villeneuve joked that he and his male stars, Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin, would wear heels to the evening premiere of Sicario in protest.
The red carpet at Cannes is highly regulated by tradition. Men must wear tuxedos with bow ties and black shoes, and women are expected to wear dresses with heels. The dress code isn’t explicitly spelled out by the festival but is enforced by security guards or “hosts.”
This is not the first time that women in flat shoes have been told they cannot attend the festival’s glitzy premieres. Two women received the same treatment last year.
Australian film writer Stephanie Bunbury decided to give away her invitation to a gala opening five years ago after attendants barred her from attending a premiere in flat gold sandals.
Festival spokeswoman Christine Aime suggested that festival staff had made a mistake
“There is no specific mention about the height of the women’s heels as well as for men’s,” Aime said of Cannes’ dress code. “Thus, in order to make sure that this rule is respected, the festival’s hosts and hostesses were reminded of it.”
Some were already calling the incident “Shoegate.”
Asif Kapadia, the director of the Amy Winehouse documentary Amy, added on Twitter that his wife was also initially refused entry to his film’s Cannes premiere Saturday because she wasn’t wearing heels, but she was eventually allowed in.
The dust-up is particularly awkward for Cannes because this year’s festival has been marked by considerable discussion about gender equality in the movie industry.
For the first time in about 28 years, a film from a female director, France’s Emmanuelle Bercot, opened the 11-day festival.
This year the smiling face of Ingrid Bergman radiates all over Cannes with the festival marking the centenary of the Swedish actress’ birth by using her image as the festival’s official poster.
But now in its 68th year, only one woman director has won the festival’s coveted Palme d’Or for best picture: New Zealand-born Jane Campion in 1993 for The Piano.
Only two of this year’s main competition films come from female directors, and men make up the majority of the festival’s jury.
