CANNES: The 72nd Cannes Film Festival is set to open today. In an opening ceremony, there will be the the premiere of Jim Jarmusch’s zombie comedy “The Dead Don’t Die” and the introduction of Alejandro Inarritu’s jury.

Last year’s Cannes saw 82 women protest for gender inequality on the festival’s famed red-carpet steps. Artistic director Thierry Fremaux signed a pledge promising to make the festival’s selection process more transparent and to push executive boards toward gender parity.
This year, Cannes’s selection committee was 50 percent female for the first time. On the recommendation of 50/50X2020, the festival created a space for nursing mothers, which it dubbed Le Ballon Rouge. And four films directed by women were selected for competition, matching the previous record set in 2011.
This year’s Cannes arrives with the usual swirl of celebrity and controversy. Debuting at the French film festival will be Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and the Elton John biopic “Rocketman.”