SCROLL
MAY 2023
In 2023, Cate Blanchett and Coco Francini were invited to Cannes Film Festival as guests of Kering Women In Motion, a program dedicated to advancing gender equity in film. Blanchett spoke about her Oscar-nominated film Tár and made an unexpected reference to the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, whose research is cited in the film itself.
In the audience that day was Dr. Stacy L. Smith, founder of the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative.
A SHARED UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROBLEM
Blanchett and Francini, through their production company Dirty Films, had long been aware of the structural barriers facing women in cinema. Dirty Films previously implemented the Inclusion Rider on Miss Americana, a women-led and women-directed project, as part of a broader commitment to shifting who gets hired, funded, and seen.
Dr. Smith’s work had been documenting the same inequities for years through rigorous, annual studies examining who directs the most popular films in the world.
Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images
Good Morning America Interview
DEC 2023
LAUNCHING THE PROGRAM
What emerged from that meeting was a clear belief: research alone isn’t enough. Change requires intervention.
At its launch, the program announced its commitment to support a cohort of filmmakers with $50,000 in short-film financing, alongside one-on-one mentorship and an industry-facing showcase. Each short film would function as a true proof of concept.
With support from the Netflix Fund for Creative Equity, the program also expanded at launch to include documentary filmmakers, broadening its reach and impact across film and television.
FORMING THE SELECTION COMMITTEE
Final selections were made by an all-star committee of filmmakers and creatives, including Chloé Zhao, Emma Corrin, Eva Longoria, Greta Gerwig, Jane Campion, Janicza Bravo, Lily Gladstone, and Lilly Wachowski.
More than 1,200 applications were submitted.
MAR 2024
Kering Women In Motion
MAY 2024
A FULL-CIRCLE MOMENT AT CANNES
In 2024, Proof of Concept returned to where it began.
Cate Blanchett, Coco Francini, and Dr. Stacy L. Smith came back to the Cannes Film Festival, once again with Kering Women In Motion, to announce the inaugural program recipients.
What started as a conversation in the audience had become a global platform for new voices.
YEAR ONE IMPACT AND WHAT COMES NEXT
The first year of Proof of Concept saw its supported films travel to major film festivals and gain industry attention, validating the program’s founding belief: when filmmakers are given resources and access, the work follows.
Now, Proof of Concept enters its second year, continuing to invest in bold storytellers and pushing the industry toward a future that better reflects the world we live in.
APR 2025
Proof of Concept Los Angeles Showcase