Sydney Film Festival is honoured to announce Nicole Kidman AC as the Ambassador for the SFF Women’s Giving Collective, a key strand of the Festival’s philanthropic program. Kidman has been a generous supporter and Festival Patron for many years.
Nicole Kidman said, “I’m honoured to become the Ambassador for Sydney Film Festival’s Women’s Giving Collective. I look forward to working alongside a group of women who are as passionate as I am in empowering the careers of women and non-binary filmmakers.”
The Women’s Giving Collective seeks to redress gender inequity that persists across the screen sector. The Collective began in 2019 as an SFF Board and Donor initiative to empower women within the film industry, and support has been steadily growing over the years. The Festival has signed onto the 5050×2020 initiative, joining international festivals including Cannes and Venice in a pledge to make gender parity a priority.
Raised on Sydney’s North Shore, Kidman is an Oscar-winning actress and producer and has been a long-time supporter of women in the industry, working with emerging female directors, authors and screenwriters through her production company, Blossom Films. Sydney Film Festival has a long history of screening her films including local productions like Kim Farrant’s Strangerland (SFF 2015), and internationally acclaimed hits like Sofia Coppola’s The Beguiled (SFF 2017).
Kidman said, “Film Festivals are such special occasions to celebrate cinema and show a snapshot of our global industry. It’s encouraging to see that snapshot include women more and more, but there is still work to be done. SFF is a great example of the celebration and the change we need to see in the industry – and of course I’m proud that it’s in my hometown of Sydney”.
Kidman has long sought out women directors including Lulu Wang and Andrea Arnold. Last year, SFF screened 1996’s The Portrait of a Lady, which marked Kidman’s first collaboration with Jane Campion, the subject of the Festival’s 2023 retrospective.
Frances Wallace said, “SFF is absolutely thrilled to welcome Nicole as the Ambassador of SFF’s Women’s Giving Collective. It means the world to have someone of Kidman’s stature join the Festival at this level of support and really raise the profile of women in the industry. Together we are working hard to create gender parity within the screen sector and I’m proud that SFF is a leader in this space.”
The Academy Award-winning Kidman is the first Australian actor to receive the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award. She also serves as a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador.
