Justine Triet 3rd female to win Cannes’ Palme d’Or

French director Justine Triet becomes the third female director to win the 76th Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or, beating 20 other filmmakers competing for the festival’s top prize on Saturday.

Triet, who has been previously nominated for the prize for her film, Sibyl, in 2019, was competing with directors that have already won Palm d’Ors like Hirokazu Kore-eda, Ken Loach, and Wim Wenders.

The French director used her winning speech to criticise the denial and repression of protests against pension reforms in France, saying that more space is necessary for young filmmakers to be able to make mistakes and start over.

“We have a long way to go. But still, we have to celebrate change when it happens,” said actor and activist Jane Fonda, who was introducing the award.

Triet follows New Zealand’s Jane Campion and France’s Julia Ducournau to the top award.