After the accusations made by Judith Godrèche against Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon, the magazine “Elle” published, Monday evening, an investigation implicating the producer Alain Sarde.
Under a sky already darkened by gloomy weather, the Cannes Film Festival is preparing in the shadow of #MeToo, seven years after the Harvey Weinstein affair, which freed women to speak out on cases of sexual assault , especially in the cinema industry. On the eve of the opening of this 77th edition, the magazine She published, Monday evening, May 13, the testimonies of nine women accusing Alain Sarde, star producer of 200 feature films, of rape, harassment and sexual assault. “Thierry Frémaux, general delegate of the Cannes Festival since 2007, described it in 2012, in a cross-interview for French Filmlike a myth, a formidable storyteller who spanned the history of the 7th art”, pins the magazine before giving the floor to the nine accusers.
This new affair comes as the rumor of the existence of a “list” of French actors, directors and producers, accused of sexual assault, has been circulating for several weeks in the microcosm of cinema. On May 5, Le Figaro echoed, announcing in its columns that their names were likely to be disclosed “before going up the stairs”. However, no journalistic investigation has confirmed these rumors.
“I don’t know where this list rumor comes from, but it is unfounded”, insisted Marine Turchi, journalist specializing in sexual violence at Mediapart. Asked by The Parisian, on May 11, she insisted that “Mediapart does not publish a list, but surveys, long, substantiated and respectful of contradictory opinions”. Still speaking to the daily, Muriel Réus, co-founder of the #MeTooMedia association, confirms: “There are journalistic investigations underway, but I don’t believe in a list.”
“No, I don’t make lists”
“We expect transparency, communication and action, and for the entire industry to question its practices,” declared to Parisian Clémentine Charlemaine, co-president of the 50/50 collective, which defends equality, parity and diversity in cinema and audiovisual. HAS 24 hours before the official opening of the most prestigious of festivals, the world of cinema still displays a certain excitement.
Judith Godrèche, who accused two figures of auteur cinema, Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon, of rape, was thus accused of being at the origin of the so-called “list”. The actress, who has become a tutelary figure of #MeToo in France, is expected on Wednesday on the Croisette, where she will present a short film dedicated to sexual violence, Me too : the film was made from testimonies from a thousand victims who responded to his appeal launched on social networks on February 10.
On her Instagram account, the actress reacted to these suspicions last week: “No, I don’t make lists (…) I have heard these rumors, but spreading them has nothing to do with my commitment and should have nothing to do with the profession of journalist. For me, this is the symptom of a form of panic, but it is also a way of making victims look like crows, and of confusing accusations and denunciations.
If some argue that these are only rumors, or even an operation remotely guided by a handful of conspirators, the festival is nevertheless preparing for the possibility of such a scenario. According to The Sunday Tribunewho tried to trace the rumor, “the presidency of the festival has enlisted the services of the communications agency Image 7, directed by Anne Méaux, in order to imagine the different scenarios in the event of serious revelations involving members of the jury or personalities in competition”. For her part, Iris Knobloch, president of the festival, said, on May 9, in an interview with Paris Match, that “if the case of an accused person arises, we will ensure that we make the right decision on a case-by-case basis.”
“A festival without controversies”
Monday afternoon, during the first press conference, the general delegate of the Cannes Film Festival, Thierry Frémaux, was the first to speak head-on on this theme. He first responded to the screening of Judith Godrèche’s short film, Me toojustifying its presence in the Un certain regard section: “In this room, there is a sort of communion, of dialogue with the room, with the press, which seems to me to be the best position for Judith Godrèche’s film which lasts 17 minutes.”
“I saw this film that she shot in a single day with a thousand people who are among the thousands of testimonies she received on the site dedicated to this purpose, following her own commitment to the issue of violence against women (…) And it seemed to us that first, at Un certain regard, then at the cinema on the beach where there is yet another type of audience, it was the best place to show it.”
Thierry Frémaux, general delegate of the Cannes Film Festivalduring a press conference on May 13
Concerning the rumors which are poisoning the atmosphere, Thierry Frémaux responded more sharply, a few hours before the magazine’s revelations She. “What poisons the atmosphere is the fact that we are talking about it. (…) Before, we only talked about cinema. When the festival started, we organizers had only one anxiety, the films. will they be loved or hated? What will be the results? We don’t talk about that at all anymore. And last year was a great year for cinema. no controversy coming from the festival, because we took care of it.”
“Judith Godrèche opened the way, and more than that”
On the eve of the opening of the Festival, franceinfo also met Camille Cottin to talk about her role as mistress of ceremonies and ask her about what she thinks she wants to say on this subject.
“It’s the opening of a festival. Of course, there are things we want to say. How do we say them? And how can we say that we want it to be festive and at the same time, I I don’t want to turn a blind eye to certain things either, and besides, wouldn’t that be compatible?
The actress Camille Cottinat franceinfo
“And then we have four minutes, that’s not either…”she laughs, before continuing in a more decided tone: “There will be interventions from strong, powerful personalities, women who will also speak out, who are important guests of this ceremony and this festival.”
Asked more specifically about the more serious context in which the festival opens this year, the mistress of ceremonies added: “I am not going to give you an overview of what is happening around, but indeed, Judith Godrèche opened the way, and more than that, since she went to the Senate. There are deep questions, structural, and the fact that she comes to screen her short film here, that it is broadcast here [montre que] the festival really goes hand in hand with these movements, accompanies them.”