2024-02-23 20:47:41
The actress Judith Godrèche, who has become the spearhead of the denunciation of sexual violence in French cinema, denounced the “level of impunity, denial and privilege” in the industry, receiving a standing ovation on the César stage on Friday at Paris.
“Why accept that this art that binds us is used as a cover for illicit trafficking in young girls? », questioned the one who freed the floor on the subject by filing a complaint once morest the directors Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon for sexual and physical violence during her adolescence, which the latter deny.
“You have to be wary of little girls, they touch the bottom of the pool, they get hurt but they bounce back,” she added, calling on the victims to “believe”.
The ceremony takes place under high tension, with victims of gender-based and sexual violence hoping that it will be a landmark. The question arose immediately, in the introductory remarks of the president of the ceremony, Valérie Lemercier.
“I will not leave this stage without praising those who are shaking up the habits and customs of a very old world where the bodies of some were implicitly at the disposal of the bodies of others,” declared the latter.
Just as symbolic, the Academy awarded its very first prize, the César for best actress in a supporting role, to Adèle Exarchopoulos, for I will always see your faceswhere she plays an incest victim.
Before the ceremony, around a hundred people demonstrated in front of the Olympia, at the call of the CGT, to support the words of the victims. “All together, we can really help things change, a truly better world can open up,” declared actress Anna Mouglalis, who accused directors Philippe Garrel and Jacques Doillon of having sexually assaulted her.
“Collective blindness”
Also before the opening of the festivities, the Minister of Culture Rachida Dati, then present in the room, deplored a “collective blindness” which “lasted for years” in the cinema sector, in an interview with the magazine Le Film French.
“Creative freedom is total but here we are not talking regarding art, we are talking regarding child abuse” concerning Judith Godrèche, she continued.
From the indictment for rape and sexual assault of Gérard Depardieu to the accusations made by Judith Godrèche, followed by other actresses, including Isild Le Besco who also plans to file a complaint, sexual violence haunts French cinema more than ever. Actor Aurélien Wiik launched the hashtag #MeTooGarçons on Instagram on Thursday.
Supposed to represent cinema in its diversity, the Césars have evolved since the cataclysmic 2020 edition where Roman Polanski, accused of rape, received the award for best director for “J’accuse”, causing the departure of actress Adèle Haenel.
The institution has been renewed. A rule of “non-highlighting” of those accused by the courts “for acts of violence” has been instituted (no invitation to events linked to the Caesars, no presentation of statuettes on stage, nor speeches for the laureats).
A priori, none of the named people are the subject of accusations. Actor Samuel Theis (“Anatomy of a Fall”) is under investigation following a technician filed a rape complaint while he was filming a movie last summer, but he doesn’t do it part.
Also read Judith Godrèche: filing a complaint for prescribed facts, a way of “speaking to other victims”
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