Cannes Lions will honor Maria Ressa as its 2024 Cannes LionHeart, the award given to a person who has harnessed their position to make a significant and positive difference to the world around us. Ressa is the co-founder and CEO of Rappler, the top digital-only news site leading the fight for press freedom in the Philippines.
As Rappler’s CEO, Ressa has led their battle for truth and democracy, and has endured constant political harassment and arrests by the Duterte government, forced to post bail 10 times to stay free. Her most recent book, “How to Stand Up to a Dictator,” was released in November 2022 and has been translated into 20 languages, with more to come.
Simon Cook, CEO, Lions, said: “We’re delighted to honor Maria Ressa with such an important accolade. This recognition underpins the relentless dedication to safeguarding freedom of expression, through her remarkable leadership of Rappler to combat the spread of misinformation. The LionHeart is awarded to those who are making a genuine difference to the world, and Maria has been instrumental in redefining investigative journalism. Her creativity and work is an inspiration to us all, and we look forward to honoring her at the Festival in June.”
On receiving the award, Ressa commented, “We’re standing on the rubble of the world that was: where technology, violence and war challenge our humanity. The Cannes LionHeart reminds us that imagination and creativity, sparking empathy, are crucial to get us through these dark times; that power and money are not enough; and that inspiration ignites the good in each of us. Thank you for recognizing the work of Rappler, where we continue to fight against the odds to help create the world we want.”
Under Ressa’s leadership, Rappler has remained committed to journalistic integrity and credible storytelling, as she focuses critical attention on the breakdown of our global information ecosystem and how interconnected communities of action can hold the line to protect democratic values. For her courage and journalistic integrity, Ressa has received numerous accolades, including in October 2021, being one of two journalists awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her “efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace”.
Ressa will take to the Debussy Stage during the day on Friday, June 21, to deliver her keynote speech and exclusive interview, ahead of being presented The Cannes LionHeart Award during the final awards show of the Festival that evening.
Carrie Coon Relishes Being Part Of An Ensemble–From “The Gilded Age” To “His Three Daughters”
It can be hard to catch Carrie Coon on her own.
She is far more likely to be found in the thick of an ensemble. That could be on TV, in "The Gilded Age," for which she was just Emmy nominated, or in the upcoming season of "The White Lotus," which she recently shot in Thailand. Or it could be in films, most relevantly, Azazel Jacobs' new drama, "His Three Daughters," in which Coon stars alongside Natasha Lyonne and Elizabeth Olsen as sisters caring for their dying father.
But on a recent, bright late-summer morning, Coon is sitting on a bench in the bucolic northeast Westchester town of Pound Ridge. A few years back, she and her husband, the playwright Tracy Letts, moved near here with their two young children, drawn by the long rows of stone walls and a particularly good BLT from a nearby cafe that Letts, after biting into, declared must be within 15 miles of where they lived.
In a few days, they would both fly to Los Angeles for the Emmys (Letts was nominated for his performance in "Winning Time" ). But Coon, 43, was then largely enmeshed in the day-to-day life of raising a family, along with their nightly movie viewings, which Letts pulls from his extensive DVD collection. The previous night's choice: "Once Around," with Holly Hunter and Richard Dreyfus.
Coon met Letts during her breakthrough performance in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe?" on Broadway in 2012. She played the heavy-drinking housewife Honey. It was the first role that Coon read and knew, viscerally, she had to play. Immediately after saying this, Coon sighs.
"It sounds like something some diva would say in a movie from the '50s," Coon says. "I just walked around in my apartment in my slip and I had pearls and a little brandy. I made a grocery list and I just did... Read More