Honourees Sarah Gadon and Emily Hampshire will receive the inaugural Birks Canadian Diamond at the Cannes Film Festival during the Telefilm Canada’s first tribute to Canadian talent press event on May 23.

The award recognises accomplishments of up-and-coming Canadian talent on an international level.

“It is a great honour to present the first Birks Canadian Diamond to two young and successful Canadian actresses, Sarah Gadon and Emily Hampshire, who have both made their mark on the film industry with exceptional acting performances,” president and CEO of Birks Jean-Christophe Bedos said.

Gadon began her career in the film industry at the age of 10 and is best known for her performance in David Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method. The young actress stars in two movies selected for Cannes – Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis and his son Brandon Cronenberg’s directorial debut Antiviral.

Montreal-born Hampshire received recognition for her role opposite Sigourney Weaver in Snow Cake. Cronenberg also cast her in Cosmopolis and she features in Xavier Dolan’s Cannes entry Laurence Anyways.