Greta Gerwig ’06 Leads the Jury at the 77th Cannes Film Festival

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Filmmaker Greta Gerwig ’06 — who co-wrote and directed the global box-office hit Barbie — broke ground yet again this May when she became the first-ever female American director to serve as jury president at the Festival de Cannes. (She is also the second youngest person to assume the role.) The star-studded, 10-day affair kicked off with Gerwig and the jury awarding an honorary Palme d’Or to actress Meryl Streep.

“First of all, I have to say this is beyond a dream come true. It is a huge honor. I can’t stop pinching myself,” said Gerwig at a press conference. “I love watching films and discussing them, so to do that here in Cannes, with all these artists, is thrilling.”

For festival organizers, Gerwig was the right person for the job. “Beyond the 7th Art, she is also the representative of an era that is breaking down barriers and mixing genres, and thereby elevating the values of intelligence and humanism,” stated festival president Iris Knobloch and general delegate Thierry Frémaux. —Nicole Anderson