Angelina Jolie was asked to serve as “godmother” to the recipients of the Trophee Chopard rising stars. The rising stars are recognized and feted at the Trophee Chopard dinner, held annually at the Cannes Film Festival. I don’t know when Angelina got into town, but she made two huge appearances in Cannes on Friday. She attended the red-carpet premiere of Eddington, and she also appeared at the Trophee Chopard ceremony and gave a speech. At both events, she happily posed with the two rising stars, Marie Colomb and Finn Bennett. Young Marie was awestruck – she kept looking over at Angelina, almost like she couldn’t believe what was happening.

Fashion notes for Angelina’s first appearance in Cannes in 14 YEARS! At the Eddington premiere, Jolie wore a Brunello Cucinelli gown. The gown is a cashmere-silk blend with sequins. It’s pretty, but I wouldn’t have noticed it if not for the woman wearing it. For the Trophee Chopard dinner, she wore custom Tom Ford by Haider Ackermann, a one-sleeved sack which kind of sucks. She wore Chopard jewelry for all of her appearances. Maybe a Chopard contract is in the works? I hope so. Meanwhile, she’s been experimenting with various shades of ashy blonde and honey-blonde for months and I’m not really a fan. I wonder if the experiments have anything to do with her 50th birthday, coming up in June. Is she planning to go blonde permanently for her 50th?

As the Trophee Chopard dinner, Angelina gave one of the first speeches of the evening, and she used her time to recognize international filmmakers who have lost their lives in conflicts:

The godmother always offers introductory remarks and Jolie maximized her time by professing a love for international cinema while staying true to her humanitarian activism and calling attention to tragic stories of women who lost their lives amid war and conflict abroad.

“I love international cinema. We are brought to other lands, into private moments, even on the battlefield, we connect and we empathize. I think of films like My Father Shadow, which is premiering here at Cannes. Anything that is possible to make international cinema more accessible is necessary and welcome,” said Jolie. “And none of us are naive. 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 now. We owe all of those risking their lives and sharing their stories and experiences a debt of gratitude, because they have helped us to learn and to evolve.”

“What brings us here is not carpets, even though they’re lovely, but what brings us here is to connect to each other through international cinema and the opportunity to be with creative people,” she added. “So I am very honored to be with so many brilliant global artists, including our honorees tonight, Finn Bennett and Mary Colon. You have both been acknowledged for the extraordinary versatility, authenticity, and empathy that you bring to your roles and as rising talents in global cinema. Thank you both for your contribution that you have already made to film and storytelling, and for everything that you will go on to do creatively.”

[From THR]

As always, Angelina is a real one. She’s also not a social butterfly – last year’s Maria promotion was the most she’d been out and about in a decade. I was surprised to see videos of Jolie at this dinner, talking to various artists and celebrities who were basically all staring at her like they’d just seen Marlene Dietrich or something. She introduced herself to Quentin Tarantino, who was seated across from her (and who directed Brad Pitt just after Angelina escaped Pitt’s abuse). She spoke to Halle Berry too – they’re supposedly working together, although I doubt that film actually gets made.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.