Juliette Binoche hails strength of Cannes winners

LOS ANGELES

Oscar winner Juliette Binoche said the growing overlap between the Cannes Film Festival and the Academy Awards is driven by the artistic power of the films themselves rather than reforms within Hollywood.

Speaking to Agence France-Presse in Los Angeles ahead of the Oscars, Binoche, who chaired last year’s Cannes jury, said it was not difficult to understand why films that succeed on the Croisette often go on to earn acclaim in Hollywood.

“The strength of these films leads to their success,” she said, rejecting the notion that changes within the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, including efforts to diversify its membership after the #OscarsSoWhite controversy, are the main reason for the convergence.

Films that premiered at Cannes earned 19 Oscar nominations this year. Norwegian family drama “Sentimental Value,” which won the Grand Prix, and Brazilian thriller The Secret Agent are both nominated for best picture. Palme d’Or winner It Was Just An Accident and special jury prize recipient Sirat are competing for best international film.

In recent years, Cannes has increasingly been viewed as an Oscars bellwether. Over the past five years, both Parasite and Anora won both the Palme d’Or and the Oscar for best picture, a rare achievement that has occurred only four times in eight decades.

This year, however, a double victory will not be possible, as Iranian director Jafar Panahi’s “It Was Just An Accident” is not nominated for best picture. The film follows ordinary Iranians confronting a man they believe tortured them in prison.

Asked whether Panahi’s work had received its due, Binoche said fairness is not a meaningful measure in art. While acknowledging that some might question the performances, which feature non-professional actors, she stressed the film’s emotional and moral depth. She noted that Panahi wrote the script while imprisoned in Iran and went on hunger strike.

For Binoche, the most important quality of cinema is its ability to transform audiences. “The most important thing for me is that it changes lives, changes people’s consciences,” she said.

The French actress is also promoting her first directorial effort, In-I in Motion, a documentary about her collaboration with British choreographer Akram Khan. The film chronicles preparations for a dance performance that premiered in London in 2008.