Cannes Film Festival promises 'seriousness' in tackling #MeToo abuses

PARIS: The head of the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday said that it would look into the findings of a parliamentary inquiry into abuses in the entertainment sector, insisting that women were being "heard".

"I would like to take this opportunity to say that the festival has taken note of the recommendations from the inquiry commission on violence in the cultural sector with seriousness and determination," Iris Knobloch told reporters in Paris.

"I am very glad that change continues to take place through strength and courage. Women are finally being heard," she added at a press conference announcing the films that will be screened at the festival, which starts on May 13.

"The festival is particularly attentive to this, and they (women) are no longer asking for their place, they are taking it. We are honoured to amplify their voices, to shine a light on incredible talent that broadens our view of the world."

A French parliamentary inquiry into the entertainment industry published its findings on Wednesday, with MPs concluding that mistreatment of performers was "endemic".

Inquiry chairwoman Sandrine Rousseau, an outspoken feminist lawmaker from The Greens party, called on Cannes to set an example in stamping out sexual abuse, as well as physical and psychological violence.

"The Cannes Film Festival must be the place where this shift in mindset happens; the place where we say loud and clear... amid the glitter and the red carpets... that finally, we all want things to change: every one of us, at every level of the industry," she told reporters on Wednesday.

The opening day of Cannes is set to coincide with the verdict in the first sexual assault trial of French film legend Gerard Depardieu, which gripped the country last month.