Katie Holmes made an appearance at the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday to announce an exciting and empowering new project.
The actress, 44, revealed she would be part of a film in partnership with Film AlUla that will support emerging Saudi Arabian female filmmakers.
As part of the project, she will help find three female filmmakers from the region who she will then mentor throughout the year, using her experience as an actress, writer, and director.
"I believe that women from all parts of the world should be empowered to follow their ambitions," she said at an event held at the Carlton Hotel.
"It therefore brings me great joy to be joining the Film ALULa Creates Program to support and enable female filmmakers from the region. I can't wait to experience the creativity these women have to offer and to share experiences and perspectives from behind the camera."
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Charlene Deleon-Jones, Executive Director at Film AlUla, also added: "As a seasoned veteran of the entertainment industry who has held many roles across her career, Katie has a depth of understanding of the craft of filmmaking, combining discipline and vision in a way that will provide our mentees both inspiration and practical skills."
A key part of the program and the mentorship phase is a visit by Katie to the AlUla (otherwise called Al-'Ula) region, an ancient Arabic oasis city, to location scout and help develop a concept for a short film. The winning film will then begin production in the first quarter of 2024.
This would represent a significant amount of time spent away from her home base of New York, although it's possible the Dawson's Creek star will have her daughter Suri Cruise by her side.
Katie shares the 17-year-old with her ex-husband Tom Cruise, and is already reportedly scouting colleges with her daughter.
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Last month, Katie emphasized the importance of shielding Suri from the public eye due to her visibility since birth.
"What has been really important for me with my daughter, because she was so visible at a young age, is I really like to protect her," she told Glamour, adding: "I'm very grateful to be a parent, to be her parent. She's an incredible person."
In the interview, Katie also discussed small roles her daughter has played in her films: Suri contributed to both Alone Together (2022) and Rare Objects (2023) as a singer.
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The proud mother revealed that she hopes Suri will continue to be involved in her future projects, as it brings her immense joy to include her daughter in her creative pursuits. She said: "I hope she always does something on my films. I always ask her."
In a March interview with Variety, Katie shared that Suri had watched Dawson's Creek and that they both had a "good laugh about it" during the pandemic. She said: "She has seen Dawson's Creek, and I think it's probably weird since she's a teenager. I'm not like, 'You need to watch Mommy's work.'"
Check out more photos of Katie Holmes and Suri Cruise below:
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