Guardian: older women prominent at Cannes

The Guardian published a photo roundup on May 16 that cast this year’s Cannes Film Festival red carpet as a showcase for older actresses, pointing to appearances by Demi Moore and other women over 60. The newspaper’s fashion gallery said the 2026 edition had given unusual prominence to older women on the Croisette, where premieres and jury appearances have filled the festival’s opening days. Cannes began on May 12 and runs through May 23, according to the festival’s official website. Demi Moore is not only a red-carpet presence this year but also a member of the main competition jury, the festival said. ### Why did The Guardian single out older actresses at Cannes this year? The Guardian’s May 16 gallery framed the red carpet as a place where older actresses were “prominent” in a way the paper treated as notable this year. The feature highlighted Moore among the women whose appearances stood out in the opening stretch of the festival, and it described the looks on display with fashion cues including capes, crinkles and couture. The festival’s own schedule shows why those appearances have been concentrated in the first week. Cannes has staged opening-ceremony events, competition premieres and photocalls since May 12, with a full slate of screenings and red-steps appearances continuing on May 16. ### What is Demi Moore doing at Cannes beyond walking the carpet? Demi Moore was named on May 4 as one of eight members of the 2026 feature-film jury, alongside Park Chan-wook, Ruth Negga, Chloé Zhao, Stellan Skarsgård and others, the festival said. (theguardian.com) The jury will watch the 22 films in competition and decide this year’s Palme d’Or. (festival-cannes.com) Park Chan-wook, the South Korean director serving as jury president, is due to lead that panel through the end of the festival. The Cannes press office said he and his jury will award the 2026 Palme d’Or on Saturday, May 23, at the Grand Théâtre Lumière. ### Which Cannes events put Moore in front of photographers? (festival-cannes.com) May 13 brought Moore onto the red carpet for the premiere of “A Woman’s Life,” according to Reuters photographs from Cannes. Festival media listings also show Moore at the May 12 feature-jury press conference and at red-steps events tied to festival screenings. (festival-cannes.com) USA Today’s Cannes photo gallery, published May 12, also identified Moore as one of the early red-carpet figures at the 79th festival. That visibility helps explain why she featured heavily in coverage that mixed celebrity photography with commentary on fashion and age. ### What does the official Cannes program show about the festival’s timeline? (reutersconnect.com) The Festival de Cannes says the 79th edition runs from May 12 to May 23, 2026. Its official site lists daily screenings, press events and red-carpet appearances, including competition titles, Un Certain Regard screenings and Cannes Classics events. The same official materials show that Cannes is still in its middle stretch. (usatoday.com) On May 16, the festival schedule included competition screenings such as Hirokazu Koreeda’s “Sheep in the Box” and Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “El ser querido,” with more premieres and public appearances still to come before the closing awards. ### Who else is shaping the public face of Cannes this year? (festival-cannes.com) Park Chan-wook has been the festival’s top official face on the jury side, as the first Korean filmmaker to preside over the Cannes competition jury, the festival said. The rest of the panel includes Moore, Ruth Negga, Laura Wandel, Diego Céspedes, Isaach De Bankolé, Paul Laverty, Chloé Zhao and Stellan Skarsgård. (festival-cannes.com) The festival’s next fixed milestone is May 23, when Park and the jury are scheduled to announce the winners of the 79th edition, including the Palme d’Or, at the Grand Théâtre Lumière in Cannes. (festival-cannes.com)