Kering’s Women in Motion Awards gala is coming together.
The starry gathering, which takes place during the Cannes Film Festival as an official event with attendance from festival leaders, jury members and others, is set for May 17. It will honor Oscar-winning actress Julianne Moore with a Women in Motion trophy, while Italian auteur Margherita Spampinato will receive an emerging talent award.
The Women in Motion Awards is a ceremony that launched in 2015. Each year, Kering singles out “female artists whose careers and commitment have advanced the role of women both in cinema and in society.” Recipients over the years have included Nicole Kidman, Donna Langley, Jane Fonda, Patty Jenkins, Geena Davis, Susan Sarandon, Viola Davis, Michelle Yeoh and Salma Hayek Pinault. Kering’s Women In Motion activities in Cannes also include live events like talks, podcast recordings and more.
“Julianne Moore fully embodies the spirit of Women in Motion. 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,” praised Kering chairman François-Henri Pinault.
Moore, a regular face at the Cannes Film Festival, won an Oscar for her work in Still Alice. Her other credits include Far From Heaven, The Hours, The Kids Are All Right, Boogie Nights, and more recently, May December, Echo Valley, The Room Next Door, Sirens and Mary & George. She next stars in Jesse Eisenberg’s untitled musical comedy for A24. She has received top acting honors at the Berlin, Venice and Cannes film festivals.
Moore said she’s “genuinely grateful” to be recognized by Kering. “Being part of Women In Motion’s legacy is incredibly meaningful to me. 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.”
Cannes Film Festival president Iris Knobloch said Moore “does not use cinema to reassure,” but rather “for 40 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.” Added general delegate Theirry Frémaux: “Julianne Moore is one of the great actresses of contemporary cinema. Across an uncompromising and richly diverse filmography, she has built her work with remarkable intelligence and patience, delivering performances of rare emotional precision. 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.”
Spampinato was selected for the emerging talent award by her predecessor, Brazilian filmmaker Marianna Brennand, who received it last year. The honor comes with a grant (50,000 euros) to support a second feature film project, and it comes to Spampinato for her debut Gioia Mia. The film, which premiered at the Locarno Film Festival where it won two prizes, tells the story of a young boy who discovers love, memory and mystery during an unexpected stay in a seaside Sicilian town.
Previously, Spampinato wrote and directed two short films, Tommasina and Segreti. “I am grateful and happy to receive the 2026 Women In Motion Emerging Talent Award,” she said. “It is a great honor to receive it from Marianna Brennand, a director I deeply admire. This award moves me because it supports the creativity and freedom of new female voices in cinema and the arts around the world.”
