Academy Award-winning actress and activist Julianne Moore will receive Kering‘s Women in Motion award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Launched in 2015 by Kering, an official partner of the Cannes Film Festival, the Women in Motion award celebrates female artists whose careers and commitment have advanced the role of women both in cinema and in society.
With the honor, Moore joins an esteemed lineup of past honorees, including Nicole Kidman, NBCUniversal Entertainment & Studios Chairman Donna Langley, Jane Fonda, Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon, Isabelle Huppert, Patty Jenkins, Gong Li, Salma Hayek Pinault, Viola Davis and Michelle Yeoh. Moore will be feted alongside the Emerging Talent Awardee, Italian filmmaker Margherita Spampinato, during the official Women In Motion Awards ceremony on May 17.
“Julianne Moore fully embodies the spirit of Women In Motion,” stated Kering chairman François-Henri Pinault, announcing her selection. “Through the consistency of her artistic choices, the depth and complexity she brings to her performances, and her longstanding dedication to advancing meaningful representation both on and off screen, she has helped redefine what it means to be a leading woman in cinema. Her career and her commitment clearly mirror the values Women In Motion has championed since its inception.”
The acclaimed actor has built a career defined by versatility and depth, with a wide-ranging filmography that includes “Still Alice”, “Far From Heaven,” “The Hours,” “The Kids Are All Right” and “Boogie Nights.” Most recently, Moore starred in Todd Haynes’ “May December,” for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination, Apple TV’s “Echo Valley,” Pedro Almodovar’s “The Room Next Door,” the Netflix limited series “Sirens” and the historical miniseries “Mary & George.” Coming up, Moore will star in Jesse Eisenberg’s untitled musical comedy for A24. Beyond the screen, Moore is a NY Times bestselling children’s author of the “Freckleface Strawberry” series and the founding chair of Everytown for Gun Safety’s Creative Council.
“I’m genuinely grateful for this recognition from Kering and the Festival de Cannes. Being part of Women In Motion’s legacy is incredibly meaningful to me,” Moore said in a statement. “I’ve always believed that visibility matters, that the stories we choose to tell can widen the space for women, and for a richer diversity of voices, both on screen and behind the camera. Continuing to work together to amplify female and diverse voices and to support the next generation of creators helps build a cinema that is more open, more representative, while driving real change.”
Iris Knobloch, president of the Festival de Cannes, said: “Julianne Moore does not use cinema to reassure. For forty years, she has chosen characters who destabilize, who suffer without resolution, who refuse easy sympathy and in doing so, she has claimed territory on screen that did not exist before she walked into it. The Women in Motion Award recognizes not only what she has achieved, but what she has made possible for every actress who comes after her.”
Likewise, Thierry Frémaux, general delegate of the Festival de Cannes, hailed Moore as “one of the greatest actresses of contemporary cinema.” With a best actress win at Cannes in 2014, Moore became the first American woman to receive top acting honors at the Berlin, Venice and Cannes film festivals, cementing her status as one of the most respected performers of her generation.
“Across an uncompromising and richly diverse filmography, she has built her work with remarkable intelligence and patience, delivering performances of rare emotional precision,” Frémaux said. “Working with some of the most important filmmakers of our time, she brings to each role a profound sensitivity, an extraordinary sense of nuance, and a fearless engagement with complex characters. Film after film, she has portrayed women in all their strength, contradictions, and freedom, leaving an indelible mark on the history of cinema.”
Each year, Women In Motion also recognizes a female director for her first feature film through its Emerging Talent Award. This year’s prize will be presented to Italian filmmaker Spampinato, whose debut feature “Gioia Mia” is said to “reflect the vitality and originality of a new generation of filmmakers shaping the future of cinema.” Spampinato was selected by her predecessor, Brazilian director Marianna Brennand, who received the honor last year.
“I am grateful and happy to receive the 2026 Women In Motion Emerging Talent Award, and it is a great honor to receive it from Marianna Brennand, a director I deeply admire,” Spampinato said. “This award moves me because it supports the creativity and freedom of new female voices in cinema and the arts around the world.”
Spampinato’s “Gioia Mia” debuted at the 78th Locarno Film Festival, where it won two Pardi in the Cineasti del Presente section. Following the Locarno Festival, ”Gioia Mia” has received more than 20 awards at both Italian and international festivals. The Emerging Talent Award will support her forthcoming second feature with a €50,000 grant.
“Like its title, ‘Gioia Mia’ felt like a jewel to me. Margherita is a flawless storyteller. She has such a unique, precise way of turning everyday moments into something magical,” Brennand noted. “I loved how much empathy she has for her characters. A tender bond between two people from different generations: a boy and his great-aunt unfolds through heartbreak and impossible love. But beneath the tenderness lies something heavier: the silent violence of a patriarchal world, carried in the body and soul of an older woman who was never allowed to fully exist. I’m really excited to see what Margherita does next.”
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