American actress Angelina Jolie made a special appearance at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday night to present the Trophée Chopard to rising stars Marie Colomb and Finn Bennett. During the lavish evening, she spoke about the power of international cinema to make an impact in these times of global turmoil.

“I love international cinema,” Angelina Jolie began her speech to the star-studded panel of guests, including Cannes jury president Juliette Binoche and fellow judges Halle Berry, Jeremy Strong, Leïla Slimani and Alba Rohrwacher, as well as Quentin Tarantino and Carla Bruni. “We are transported to other places, in private moments, even on battlefields, we connect and empathize. I think of films like ‘My Father Shadow’ (set during the 1993 Nigerian election crisis), which is premiering at Cannes. Anything that can make international cinema more accessible is needed and welcome.”

“And none of us are naive,” continued Angelina Jolie, who is as celebrated a humanitarian as she is for her acting career. “We know that many artists around the world lack the freedom and security to tell their stories, and many have lost their lives, like Fatima Hassouna, killed in Gaza, Shaden Gardood killed in Sudan, and Victoria Amelina killed in Ukraine, and so many other extraordinary artists who should be with us right now.”

‘We owe a debt of gratitude to all those who have risked their lives and shared their stories and experiences, for they have helped us learn and grow.’

Angelina Jolie.

The 25th Trophée Chopard awards ceremony took place at a dinner on Carlton Beach hosted by Cannes Film Festival president Iris Knobloch, delegate Thierry Frémaux and Chopard co-president and artistic director Caroline Scheufele.

Established in 2001, the Trophée Chopard celebrates emerging international film talent, each year honouring one actress and one actor whose careers are showing promise. Colomb and Bennett are the latest recipients of the award – following last year’s winners Sophie Wilde and Mike Faist. Previous recipients of the award, which often heralds more glory to come, include Marion Cotillard, Diane Kruger, Léa Seydoux, Florence Pugh, Jessie Buckley, Niels Schneider, Jeremy Irvine and Joe Alwyn.

Speaking of Angelina Jolie – as the “fairy godmother” of the awards, Finn Bennett told Variety at the dinner about his meeting with Jolie: “She’s really interested in nurturing young actors. I feel really honored, really lucky to be here.”

“I just wanted to ask her how she did it all,” Bennett continued. “As you can see, this is crazy. And she handled it so well, completely calm. And I think that’s amazing.”

Marie Colomb was also impressed by Jolie’s simple nature as they walked up the famous red steps at the Grand Lumiere before the Chopard event.

“She was amazing, she was incredibly beautiful. I looked at her and I thought, ‘Wow! This is unbelievable, this is unbelievable.’ But at the same time it was funny because when I met her, I met a normal, nice person,” Marie Colomb said. “Then when you see the photos or videos later, all my friends write to me and say, ‘What was that?’ It’s crazy but at the same time it’s great.”

Angelina Jolie also shared similar praise for the young talent: in a conversation with Variety: “I think they are very brave in their work. They make very brave choices, and they are very dedicated, emotional and open, so they are very promising creatives, and I think they will contribute a lot. They seem to be very kind, grateful and very professional young people.”

Angelina Jolie also shared the best advice her godmother, Jacqueline Bissett, gave her about navigating the business: “Learn French and make French films.”