Patty Jenkins will receive the 2018 Women in Motion award during the Cannes Film Festival. The “Wonder Woman” director will receive the honor from festival president Pierre Lescure, its artistic director, Thierry Fremaux, and Francois-Henri Pinault, president and CEO of luxury goods firm Kering, which is behind the Women in Motion initiative. The presentation will take place at a Women in Motion dinner on May 13.


It will be the fourth edition of Women in Motion, which is part of the film festival’s official program. It spans industry talks focused on women’s contribution to cinema, both in front of and behind the camera, and the annual awards.


Robin Wright, Salma Hayek, and Diane Kruger were among those who spoke at last year’s event. Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon are past recipients of the Women in Motion award. The young talent award has gone to honorees including Tunisian director Leyla Bouzid and Syrian director Gaya Jiji.


The organizers said Jenkins was being honored this year in recognition of the fact that her work has enabled significant progress to be made in the fight for gender equality. Jenkins is the first female director to helm a DC Comics movie, and “Wonder Woman” was the first superhero movie with a female protagonist since 2005’s “Elektra.”


“Wonder Woman” was the highest-grossing summer movie of 2017. Jenkins has signed up to direct the upcoming sequel, which is currently in pre-production.


Her previous work includes the Oscar-winning feature “Monster.” She has also worked in TV, helming the pilot and final episode of the AMC version of crime drama “The Killing.” She has just wrapped a series for cable network TNT, “One Day She’ll Darken.”