Girls of the Sun

Girls of the Sun (original title Les Filles du soleil), directed by Eva Husson, follows a former lawyer (Golshifteh Farahani) leading an all women Kurdish battalion after ISIS occupies her village and executes her husband; it had its world premiere in the main competition at Cannes on May 12, 2018. The premiere coincided with a protest led by jury president Cate Blanchett and Agnès Varda, in which 82 women walked the red carpet to symbolize the number of women directors selected for competition across Cannes' 71 year history. Despite this, the film drew harsh reviews, dropping to a 46 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. The screenplay was inspired by the real stories of Yazidi women abducted by ISIS; Husson conducted roughly 30 hours of interviews with journalist Xavier Muntz for research. Who it's for: anyone curious about a war drama that competed at Cannes, whose premiere coincided with a protest for gender equality among directors, inspired by real Yazidi women's stories. Who it's not for: viewers looking for a Cannes film that was well received by critics, since this one drew harsh reviews at its premiere.