At the Cannes festival in the South of France, women have reportedly been turned away from screenings for not wearing high heels. THR reports that one woman was refused entry to a screening of Cate Blanchett’s hotly-tipped lesbian romance, Carol, for wearing ankle boots, while another was “actually physically pushed off the carpet for wearing sandal platforms that security seemingly took a dislike to”.
There doesn’t seem to be a coherent policy, as some women in flat shoes were allowed in, and there was no problem for women whose dresses covered their flats, or if you happen to be well connected, like Amy [Winehouse] documentary director Asif Kapadia’s wife, who was initially refused but then soon admitted.
Actors and commentators are united in their condemnation of the apparently sexist and unfair footwear policy, with Emily Blunt using her Sicario press conference to label the fiasco “disappointing,” adding that, “We shouldn’t wear high heels anyway, that’s my point of view. You kind of think that there’s these new waves of equality and waves of people realizing that women are just as fascinating and interesting to watch, and bankable.” In solidarity, Sicario‘s director Denis Villeneuve described his interesting plan to protest ‘flatgate’, saying, “Benicio [Del Toro], Josh [Brolin] and I will walk the steps in high heels.”
Credits
Photography Bruno Chatelin