Kering and the Festival de Cannes to present the 2025 Women In Motion Emerging Talent Award to Brazilian director Marianna Brennand

Kering and the Festival de Cannes are pleased to announce that the 2025 Women In Motion Emerging Talent Award will be presented to Brazilian director Marianna Brennand during the official Women In Motion dinner at Cannes. Brennand was selected by Malaysian director Amanda Nell Eu who received the Award in 2024, as each winner is chosen by the preceding Award winner to receive the prize, which includes a grant of €50,000 to support the creation of the laureate’s second feature project.

In 2025, as the Women In Motion program celebrates 10 years of recognizing women in the seventh art, Kering is proud to continue its commitment to promoting emerging female talent, exposing persistent inequalities in the film industry and beyond, and playing a part in changing mindsets and practices, thus providing women with an additional springboard for launching their careers. Reflecting a real but still too slow and uneven evolution, the share of women directors, for example, increased from 7.5% to 13.6% among the top 100 box office films in the United States between 2015 and 2024.

Every year in Cannes for the past ten years, the program has awarded inspirational figures and female directors whose first feature film shows great potential. The Emerging Talent Award, which comes with a grant aimed at supporting the winner’s second film project, notably allowed the program to support Leyla Bouzid (Tunisia), Gaya Jiji (Syria), Ida Panahandeh (Iran), Maysaloun Hamoud (Palestine), Carla Simón (Spain), Eva Trobisch (Germany), Maura Delpero (Italy), Shannon Murphy (Australia), Ninja Thyberg (Sweden), Carmen Jaquier (Switzerland) and Amanda Nell Eu (Malaysia). This grant strives to overcome the challenges linked to a lack of resources in a sector as competitive as the film industry. Some recipients of the Prize have gone on to receive international recognition for their second feature film: Carla Simón, for instance, won the Golden Bear at the Berlinale in 2022 for Alcarràs, and Maura Delpero received the Grand Jury Prize in Venice in 2024 for Vermiglio.
 

Marianna Brennand, director of Manas, declared: “Manas exists because, for me, it is imperative to give voice to women and girls who would not be heard otherwise. The recognition this award brings not only amplifies our voices but reminds us of the importance of women directing films about women. To receive this award from director Amanda Nell Eu, whose work is so unique and brave, moves me deeply. I recognize the importance and beauty of being part of the Women In Motion community and would like to pay this honor forward to the manas who courageously shared their stories with us. I thank our crew and partners in the Manas team who held my hand for these last ten years as we weaved together this story that seemed too difficult to tell. I hope through Manas women feel seen, heard, respected and encouraged to break their silences. To all manas of the world, let us speak out.”

Amanda Nell Eu explained her choice: "Marianna Brennand's debut feature Manas was an incredibly captivating and painful story, with its luscious cinematography and strong performances by its young lead actors. Manas portrays a distressing but very real story of what many young girls face, deep in the wild surroundings of the Amazon rainforest. This film made me feel so much rage, anger and love for them, and I applaud Marianna for making this powerful film and giving this issue a much needed voice."

The recipient of the 2025 Women In Motion Award, as well as the program of Talks for the 78th edition of the Festival de Cannes, will be revealed in the coming weeks.
 

About Marianna Brennand

Marianna Brennand is a director, producer, and screenwriter from Brazil working between Recife, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. She has a degree in Film Studies from University of California, Santa Barbara (2002). Manas, her debut feature film, was the GDA Director's Award winner at Giornate degli Autori, during the Venice Film Festival 2024. She is the first Brazilian director to win Giornate's main prize. The fiction film, which started as a documentary project, is the result of ten years of research into the complex and delicate subject of sexual abuse and exploitation of children, teenagers and women on Marajó Island, in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest. Her portrayal of violence against women was done in such an unprecedented, sensitive and respectful way that the film has been resonating with audiences around the world. Since Giornate, Manas has been awarded more than 22 prizes in film festivals in Brazil and worldwide.

About Women In Motion 

Kering's commitment to women is at the heart of the Group's priorities and, through Women In Motion, extends to the arts and culture, where gender inequalities persist, even though creation is one of the most powerful vectors for change.
In 2015, Kering launched Women In Motion at the Festival de Cannes with the ambition of highlighting the talent of women in cinema, both in front of and behind the camera. The program has since been extended to other artistic fields, including photography.
Through its Awards, the program recognizes the influence of inspirational figures and provides concrete support for emerging talent. Its Talks and Podcasts provide a forum for personalities to share their views on the representation of women in their professional environment.
In 2025, the anniversary year of the creation of Women In Motion, Kering celebrates 10 years of commitment to women in the arts and culture.
A pioneering program, Women In Motion highlights the talent and diversity of the female voices shaping the artistic world. More than a celebration, this 10-year celebration marks a milestone in the commitment of the Group to providing a space for dialogue and action, in order to continue promoting the recognition and influence of women in creation.
 

À propos de Kering

A global Luxury group, Kering manages the development of a series of renowned Houses in Fashion, Leather Goods and Jewelry: Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, McQueen, Brioni, Boucheron, Pomellato, DoDo, Qeelin and Ginori 1735, as well as Kering Eyewear and Kering Beauté. By placing creativity at the heart of its strategy, Kering enables its Houses to set new limits in terms of their creative expression while crafting tomorrow’s Luxury in a sustainable and responsible way. We capture these beliefs in our signature: “Empowering Imagination”.

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