juliet the notion -- juliet binoche was asked about the number of f female contenders ad competition this year.r. >>>> he said to me i'm very hapy that w we have seven films from women directors this year. he said he did select them because they are women because they are great films, so i think that is a good step forward. brent cold and she is jury president now, but she has been a movie star as well -- brent: she is the jury president now, but she has been a movie star as well. we want to look back at her career. >> few in the film world have built a career as an amicable to fafacet it as juliet binoche. the french actress has been in over 60 films and from m the stt has worked with someme of the world's most visionary directors. she was already a star in france when her performance in philip kaufman's 1988 " "the unbearable lighghtness of being" lost her international career. for the 1996 passionate world war ii epic "the english patienent," she got an academy award and a back to -- back to -- bafta. in 2000, "chocolat," saw her seduce none less than a whole town with her chocola

at the center of all the attention, the french oscar-winner and the head d of e jury, juliet binoche.hey brought an international cast to the red carpet to celebrate herr movie, "the kindnessss of strangers." the film focuses on several characters who cross paths in a restaurant in new york. >> what about you, then? >> i have not [inaudible] sincnce fourur years now. >> all the characters have suffered life shattering experiences. clara isis escapingg a abusive husband. mark is out of prison. they try to rebuild their lives, possibly onlnly with the help of strangers. >> i thought it would make sense every day while we were working whether -- this was a place to be and make a film that had light and hopefully leaves the audience in a sense of not just hope that also community -- but also community. >> this is the third movie the director has run in competition where she is also praised for her keen eye for characters. the festival kicks off with an unprecedented lineup of female directors. they shine a light on people at the margins, a perfect fit for europe's politically charged film