The graphic novel “Grégory” 40 years later, and Marina Hands who plays Gena Rowlands in the theater

In “Tout Public” on Thursday October 3, 2024, the author Pat Perna for the graphic novel “Grégory” and Marina Hands as Gena Rowlands in the play “Contre” at the Comédie Française.

The Grégory Villemin affair fascinates the general public and has remained a mystery for French justice for 40 years. A graphic novel which traces this affair, prefaced by the little boy’s father, Jean-Marie Villemin, appears Thursday October 4, 2024. The author of the book, the screenwriter Pat Perna, is at the microphone of “Tout Public” and returns to the way in which he approached a story which has caused so much ink to flow since its beginning.

Through Gregory (editions Les Arènes), Pat Perna seeks with Christophe Gaultier to restore humanity to this affair, and especially to the history of this family. He insists in fact on the importance he gives to the fact of“incarnate” Christine and Jean-Marie Villemin, a couple with whom he developed a precious bond.

“Very quickly, I discovered this man [Jean-Marie Villemin]and it was overwhelming. For me, it’s a real encounter in the most beautiful sense possible.”

To be able to do his work as a screenwriter, Pat Perna remembers having received from Jean-Marie Villemin “a document that he called a summary – in reality, it was 250 pages – simply to explain the case to me. Then, he gave me more than 100,000 press clippings which he classified, scanned, archived by date, by type of newspaper, etc.” However, the author chose to focus on something other than the facts: the link between Christine and Jean-Marie Villemin, “this incredible love which allowed them (…) to transcend this story and go beyond”.

The legendary actor couple formed by John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands is portrayed by Constance Meyer in the play Againstwhere actress Marina Hands plays Gena Rowlands.

Marina Hands returns in “Tout Public” to the way in which the American actress marked the history of cinema, and to her influence on the directing work of her husband John Cassavetes, actor, but also author and director. “The actresses were very iconic (…). And then [Gena Rowlands] showed up and said: I’m going to play real women. I’m going to be a real woman, playing women who struggle, women who suffer, women from difficult backgrounds. It did a lot of good for everyone.”

“[Gena Rowlands] bridged the gap between Cassavetes’ creative pool, which might have been mostly marginal and marginalized, and the public. It allowed the transmission of Cassavetes’ art.”

This year, Marina Hands can also be found in the pieces Silence of Lorraine de Sagazan and The Satin Shoe by Paul Claudel, directed by Éric Ruf.

A program with the participation of journalists David Di Giacomo from the franceinfo police-justice service, and Thierry Fiorile, from the franceinfo culture department.