CANNES – Legendary actor Sir Ian McKellen will sit down with The Brooklyn Brothers’ founding partner Jackie Stevenson to discuss how he combines creative fulfillment with ‘doing the right thing’ in his efforts as an activist, demonstrating creativity’s power to effect social change. Fellow British acting legend Dame Helen Mirren will join L’Oreal in her role as brand ambassador, taking part in a frank discussion on diversity and inclusivity, the beauty giant’s work with The Prince’s Trust and why its famous slogan was changed to ‘Because we are ALL worth it.’
On Tuesday, storyteller extraordinaire Ira Glass, one of the creators of ‘Serial’ and ‘S-Town’, the two most popular podcasts ever made, will share the creative lessons he’s learnt during his tenure as producer and host of This American Life, the incredibly successful radio show. Pianist, educator and philanthropist Lang Lang will join Universal on stage for a similarly candid session, exploring how he’s gained his reputation for innovation both within and beyond his core field of classical music.
Fashion wunderkind Alexander Wang join adidas’ Wednesday session along with tennis pro-turned-sneaker star Stan Smith and creative directors Paul Gaudio and Ferdinando Verderi. The session will shed light on the brand’s seemingly unflagging creative success, and how you can draw on your own archive while still heading firmly into the future. On Thursday, punk performance artists Pussy Riot will join Grey for what could be a radical afternoon. Drawing on the group’s assertion that only “vivid, illegal actions have a subtle power of showing that the king is naked,” the session should show how much-needed disruption is really done.
