Jessica Chastain has never been one to hold back when it comes to showcasing women. From actively fighting to close the gender pay gap to calling Time’s Up on sexual harassment in the film industry, Chastain uses her voice to encourage change.

And it seems to be paying off. After having served on the jury last year at the annual Cannes Film Festival, the actress – who’s starred in films such as Molly’s Game and The Help – has inspired the festival’s organisers to add more women to the line-up, in every way possible.

“We are equalising the proportion of women staffing the festival and within our selection committees, which is important: last year, Jessica Chastain, who was on the jury, made me understand the importance of the ‘female gaze’ during the selection process,” Thierry Fremaux, the festival’s director, tells Variety.

While serving on the festival’s jury in France in 2017, Chastain challenged the industry’s lack of female representation.

“I do hope that when we include more female storytellers we will have more of the kinds of women that I recognise in my day-to-day life,” Chastain said. “Ones that are proactive, have their own agencies, don’t just react to the men around them, they have their own point of view.”

Cannes Film Festival is making big feminist changes thanks to Jessica Chastain