Creator, Diversity In Cannes

Yolonda Brinkley

Yolonda Brinkley, the self-proclaimed global disruptor, is the creator of Diversity in Cannes, the independent film movement promoting inclusion at the Cannes Film Festival.

Since its 2010 inception, with Yolonda at the helm, the initiative has emerged from a simple filmmaker symposium to a comprehensive movement, providing a platform for globally diverse filmmakers to be seen and heard at the Cannes Film Festival. More specifically, Diversity in Cannes promotes the presence of underrepresented content creators telling stories specific to marginalized populations and celebrates their achievements at the worlds most presigious film festival.

In nine short years, Yolonda has hosted hundreds of filmmakers from five continents, received thousands of short film submissions from at least 31 countries and has welcomed esteemed panelists. In 2012, she was nominated for a European Diversity Award for her efforts to diversity the global film industry and in 2016 she was invited to the Inaugural South by South Lawn, White House Festival ideas under the Obama administration.
Having only scratched the service of possibilities, Yolonda’s expanding her efforts and is excited to celebrate 10 years of independently promoting inclusion at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2019.