Viola Davis Delivers Powerful Speech At Kering’s Starry Cannes Dinner: ‘The Power of Art is That It Knows No Color’

variety.com:

Viola Davis brought guests at Kering’s annual Women in Motion dinner in Cannes to their feet on Sunday with a rousing speech acknowledging her roots and personal journey to Hollywood.“As much as I love Alexander McQueen — and I love Alexander McQueen — and the fabulous makeup,” said Davis, “I am always, always so moved when people tell me my work or my life meant something to them.

But just know who I am at the end of the day is: I don’t want to leave something for people — I want to leave something in people.”Davis was speaking on stage at Kering’s annual dinner at the Cannes Film Festival, where she was the night’s honoree.

Surrounded by a starry display of the French festival’s biggest names, like Cannes chief Thierry Frémaux and Kering chairman and CEO François-Henri Pinault, Davis received a rapturous standing ovation after delivering a powerful speech about creating change through her work. “The power of art is that it knows no color,” Davis said.Kering — the French-based luxury goods corporation, which owns McQueen, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent — has been throwing its intimate Women In Motion dinner at the Cannes Film Festival since 2015 when the program was launched to shine a light on women’s contributions to the motion picture arts, both in front of and behind the camera.

The program sponsors talks with female filmmakers, producers and actors during the festival, hosted in partnership with Variety. (Earlier at Cannes, Davis sat down for an impactful talk about her work to drive more inclusion in Hollywood.)“Gender equality is at the core of Kering,” said Pinault at the Sunday night affair.Davis was honored with the Women in Motion Award, which honors iconic and inspirational figures.