Cannes' Shoes

From the BBC:
"Cannes 'turned away amputee in flat shoes'"

Film producer Valeria Richter, who has part of her left foot amputated, says she was stopped at the Cannes Film Festival for not wearing high heels. She told BBC 5 live red carpet officials pointed at her shoes and said: "No, no, this won't work, you can't get in like this."   Ms Richter, who was eventually allowed in, spoke after Cannes was accused of turning away women in flat shoes. The festival has denied heels are part of the official dress code. A spokeswoman said ushers had been "reminded" of this, suggesting women in flat shoes would now be admitted. However, numerous festival-goers have reported seeing women being turned away. Among them was Asif Kapadia - whose Amy Winehouse documentary premiered in Cannes last weekend - who said his wife had been stopped on the red carpet but was "eventually let in".  Ms Richter told the BBC she "couldn't keep her balance" in heels, after having her big toe and part of her left foot amputated. She was stopped four times on her way into the premiere of Gus Van Sant's Sea of Trees on Saturday. "They pointed their finger at my shoe and then were waving their fingers at me," she said. "It was quite obvious it was my shoes that was an issue." "Obviously, I could wave my foot at them," she said, "and that would make the situation a little awkward for them, because I had a visible explanation [for not wearing heels]". Although Ms Richter was eventually granted entry, she said "many of my colleagues who can't wear heels were rejected and did not come in." British star Emily Blunt, whose latest film Sicario debuted in Cannes on Tuesday, called the alleged ban on flat shoes "very disappointing". "Everyone should wear flats to be honest," she said.  "We shouldn't be wearing high heels anyway. That's my point of view. I just prefer wearing Converse sneakers." However, the star opted for heels at the red carpet premiere of her film, which also stars Josh Brolin and Benicio del Toro. Festival director Thierry Fremaux has said "rumours" of a ban on heels were "unfounded". But the row is awkward for Cannes in a year when it was seeking to address sexism in cinema. The festival opened with a female-directed film for the first time since 1987, and organisers have endorsed a series of "Women in Motion" talks by stars such as Isabella Rossellini and Salma Hayek.

 

^ Whether it's an official rule at Cannes or not the people working for the Film Festival obviously think it is and are enforcing it as though it was. I'm not going to go into the whole heel issue now, but what got me is the woman who was turned away for wearing flat shoes she's an amputee. That shows how the people involved with the Cannes Film Festival treats the disabled (not to mention women in general.) I don't understand why Cannes is such a big deal, but whether it is or not they shouldn't be allowed to treat the disabled differently. ^

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-32809200