Latest news with #DominikMoll
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Dossier 137' Review: A Sharp Police Procedural Investigates Law, Order and Social Justice in Contemporary France
In director Dominik Moll's superb 2022 police thriller, The Night of the 12th, the focus was on French detectives pursuing a vicious killer who was forever out of reach. The closer they came to nabbing him, the more he got away, leaving them to turn in circles year after year during a long, existential quest that left none of them unscathed. In that movie, the cops were flawed human beings and clearly chauvinistic (there was only one woman on the squad), but they were still the good guys. In Dossier 137, a piercing slow-burn examination of police brutality, the tables have turned and the cops have become the criminals, making us question the very notion of policing in a France racked by social unrest and class division. Made with the same laser-cut precision as his previous work, but with a greater emphasis on procedure than before, Moll's new thriller puts the viewer in an uneasy place — between law and order, good cop and bad cop, protester and rioter — raising questions for which there are no easy answers. More from The Hollywood Reporter Colombia Is Thriving, But Locals Worry About Tariffs Luke Evans Joins Noomi Rapace in Thriller 'Traction' 'Left-Handed Girl' Review: Striking, Sean Baker-Penned Drama Sketches Compelling Portrait of Mothers and Daughters in Taiwan If The Night of the 12th, which was adapted from the memorable book by Pauline Guéna, had hints of Zodiac and Memories of Murder in its catch-a-killer scenario, Dossier 137 feels closer to certain episodes of The Wire. Told from the point-of-view of Stéphanie (Léa Drucker), an officer serving in the IGPN — what the French call 'la police de police,' what we call internal affairs — the film is loaded with procedural jargon and doesn't skip a beat when depicting the many steps required to conduct a full-scale investigation within the department. At nearly two hours, the tension can dissipate at times, but Moll and regular co-writer Gilles Marchand turn what could have been dry material into a provocative account of law enforcement in contemporary France. The two were inspired by real events that happened back in 2018, when the Yellow Vest protests lead to violent skirmishes on the streets of Paris and other major cities. Several protesters were injured, some of them critically, by Flash-balls fired by riot police, or by cops sent out to quell demonstrations that were growing increasingly unwieldy. At one point, President Emmanuel Macron even ordered armored vehicles to roll down Paris' boulevards. Moll's fictional account is set at that time, and it's littered with interviews, cell phone footage and the occasional news broadcast. At the heart of its story is an incident in which a young protester, Guillaume Girard (Côme Peronnet), is severely wounded by Flash-ball fire near the Champs-Elysées. Stéphanie has been tasked with finding the culprit, leading her to conduct tons of interrogations, sometimes of the same people, and to gather all the visual evidence she can find. Along with IGPN partners Benoît (Jonathan Turnbull) and Mathilde (Carole Delarue), she begins to piece together what happened while hitting several layers of resistance: Guillaume's family, especially his outspoken mother Joëlle (Sandra Colombo), never trusted cops beforehand and certainly won't trust them now, giving Stéphanie little to work with. Even more complicated are her dealings with riot police and members of the BRI (the French equivalent of SWAT), who fend off her nosy questions until she finally compiles enough evidence to concentrate on two suspects (Théo Costa-Marini and Théo Navarro Mussy), both of whom fired their Flash-ball guns at a fleeing Guillaume. As a filmmaker, Moll seems to function like a detective himself, painstakingly following his heroine's every action, whether on the job or in selected scenes at home with her son (Solàn Machado Graner) and a stray cat (named Yoghurt!) she finds in a garage. The movie is not always suspenseful, though Moll does turn up the heat in the third act. But like any good investigation, Dossier 137 bombards us with tough questions: Is Stéphanie doing the right thing, or is she overstepping her boundaries at a time when France seems to be on the brink of class war? What purpose does it serve to police the police, especially members of the BRI — some of whom went into the Bataclan during the terrorist attacks? And didn't the rioters provoke all of this by setting Paris aflame? The film tackles these issues against a backdrop of deep division in which everyone seems to be either a cop or a cop hater. Caught in the middle, Stéphanie finds herself increasingly at odds with her fellow officers, culminating in a moving interrogation where the tables are turned and her own bias gets questioned by a superior. Earlier on her ex-husband (Stanislas Merhar), a cop himself, lambasts her for going after fellow officers, to which she replies that if she didn't do it, 'only assholes would be left.' The excellent Drucker (Last Summer, Custody) gives another engaging performance as a woman trying to render justice in a country torn apart by politics and social grievances. The rest of the cast does solid work, especially Turnbull, offering comic relief as Stéphanie's hardnosed partner. In one telling aside, the two pay a visit to the 5-star Prince de Galles hotel, some of whose windows overlook the scene of the crime. When Benoît learns that a room costs as much as his monthly salary, he steals a few bars of soap as revenge. Cops may hold some of the power in France, but they're still struggling to get by. The hotel sequence leads to one of the only pure moments of suspense in an otherwise chatty movie, during which Stéphanie follows a chambermaid (Guslagie Malanda from Saint Omer) home on the metro, hoping the woman may know more than she let on during her interrogation. Moll has always been a visual director, and he manages to keep us glued to our seats as the two play a subtle game of cat and mouse on public transportation, until Stéphanie finally corners her prey. The sad irony of that scene, and of Dossier 137 in general, is that both women really want to do the right thing — only they live in a world where it's no longer about right or wrong, but about whose side you're on. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now "A Nutless Monkey Could Do Your Job": From Abusive to Angst-Ridden, 16 Memorable Studio Exec Portrayals in Film and TV The 10 Best Baseball Movies of All Time, Ranked
France 24
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- France 24
As Cannes gets serious about #MeToo, has French cinema finally turned a corner?
If it weren't for the ban on nudity and 'voluminous' outfits, the latest controversy to fuel talk of policing women's dress, one might struggle to recognise Cannes this year. In an unprecedented move, the Cannes Film Festival banned a French actor from walking the red carpet on Thursday for the premiere of Dominik Moll's competition entry 'Case 137', because the actor faces accusations of rape. Hours later, the independent ACID sidebar that runs parallel to the festival said it had suspended one of its vice presidents after he was publicly accused of sexual assault during a Cannes roundtable. Two days earlier, during the festival's opening ceremony, host Laurent Laffitte paid tribute to French actress Adèle Haenel, whose decision years ago to walk out on French cinema over its culture of abuse and impunity was met by industry leaders with a collective shrug. 06:40 The very same morning, a court in Paris found French film giant Gérard Depardieu guilty of groping two women on a film set and handed him a suspended jail term – in a groundbreaking verdict that Cannes jury president Juliette Binoche said would 'of course' never have happened without the #MeToo movement. All of which points to a significant shift for a festival that had only paid lip service to the #MeToo movement until last year's edition offered the first hints of awareness. It comes two years after Cannes' decision to hand Johnny Depp's comeback movie 'Jeanne du Barry' the prestigious curtain raiser slot saw more than a hundred French actors blast the festival for 'rolling out the red carpet for aggressors'. A change of rules French actors Ariane Labed and Alma Jodorowsky were among the 123 signatories – the vast majority women – of the Libération op-ed denouncing the festival in 2023. Two years on, they say the festival's radical change of stance is a win for all victims of abuse. 'We took issue with Cannes two years ago because they were clearly not up to the job,' says Labed, who has starred in several films by Yorgos Lanthimos. 'Now we're delighted to see the festival take these matters seriously.' Jodorowsky adds: 'To have to see their aggressors be showcased and honoured in all impunity is a double punishment for the victims of abuse. It's important that major institutions like Cannes ensure they don't suffer this way.' The world's most prestigious film festival has introduced new rules this year requiring movie producers to guarantee that films submitted respect the 'safety, integrity and dignity' of all contributors. Théo Navarro-Mussy, the actor who was barred from the red carpet premiere of 'Case 137', was accused of rape by three former partners in 2018, 2019 and 2020. The case was dropped last month due to lack of evidence, but French media report that the three women plan to file a civil lawsuit. 'It is because there is an appeal, and therefore the investigation is still active, that the case is not suspended,' Cannes festival director Thierry Frémaux told French magazine Télérama. 'When a legal decision becomes final, the situation changes.' The movie's director, whose previous film 'The Night of the 12th' centred on an unsolved case of femicide, said he supported the ban. 'It was the proper decision,' Moll told AP. 'Out of respect for the women, the plaintiffs.' 'Endemic' abuse The build-up to cinema's annual Riviera gathering has been overshadowed by a damning French parliamentary inquiry into the entertainment industry published in early April, which concluded that 'moral, sexist, and sexual violence in the cultural sector is systemic, endemic, and persistent'. 06:21 The six-month inquiry heard testimony from around 350 people in the film, TV, theatre and performing arts industries, including some the biggest names in French cinema. Its chair, Green Party lawmaker Sandrine Rousseau, called on Cannes to set an example in stamping out abuse. 'The Cannes Film Festival must be the place where this shift in mindset happens,' Rousseau told reporters. 'The place where we say loud and clear (...) amid the glitter and the red carpets (...) that finally, we all want things to change: every one of us, at every level of the industry.' Labed and Jodorowsky, both members of the ADA association of actors who campaign against sexual and sexist violence on film sets, agree that the festival has a special duty when it comes to cracking down on abuse. 'The film world and Cannes in particular enjoy a great deal of exposure – and this comes with a duty towards society,' says Jodorowsky, who walked the red carpet on Friday for her part in the Nathalie Portman-produced animated film 'Arco'. 'It's important to show that domination, abuse and the culture of rape are no longer acceptable.' Cult of the auteur The parliamentary inquiry owes much to the strenuous campaigning of French actor and director Judith Godrèche, whose accounts of the grooming she says she endured as a teenage actor triggered a belated #MeToo reckoning in France. Last year, Cannes screened a short film by Godrèche titled ' Moi Aussi ' ("Me Too", in French), a choral piece uniting victims of all ages, some them male, who find strength and solace in speaking out about their personal trauma. The screening marked one of the highlights of a festival that has long been accused of doing too little to foster gender parity in film and where the disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein once held court. In 2017, at the dawn of the #MeToo era, Godrèche was among the first to speak out against Weinstein, telling the New York Times that the film producer assaulted her in a hotel during the Cannes Film Festival two decades earlier, when she was 24. Since then, the press has been awash with reports of industry insiders, Cannes chauffeurs and hotel staff confirming Weinstein's predatory behaviour. For years, however, France's own Weinsteins evaded scrutiny, shielded by ingrained suspicion of the #MeToo movement as a puritanical witch-hunt imported from America – and by what film expert Geneviève Sellier describes as a 'cult of the auteur' that has long been used to excuse or cover up reprehensible behaviour. 'The cult of the auteur places artistic genius – regarded as necessarily male – above the law,' says Sellier, a professor emeritus at Bordeaux-Montaigne University who runs a blog on film and gender. 'This French tradition explains in part why the country remains largely blind to the realities of male domination and abuse.' Cautious optimism The notion that art should shield artists from scrutiny has taken a hit with the guilty verdict handed this week to Depardieu – who, as late as December 2023, was defended by French President Emmanuel Macron as a 'genius of his art' who 'makes France proud', and a victim of a 'manhunt'. Carine Durrieu Diebolt, a lawyer for one of the plaintiffs in the case, described the ruling as 'the victory of two women' and 'of all women beyond this trial'. She added: 'Today we hope to see the end of impunity for an artist in the world of cinema. (...) And today, as the Cannes Film Festival opens, I'd like the film world to spare a thought for Gérard Depardieu's victims.' 02:31 Depardieu, who is appealing the conviction, was ordered to pay a further €1,000 each to the plaintiffs over the 'excessive harshness' displayed in court by his lawyer, who sparked outrage by branding the women 'hysterical' and 'liars' working for the cause of 'rabid feminism'. The latter decision is an important step forward, says Jodorowsky, noting that the cards are still stacked against the victims in cases of sexual abuse. Last year, more than 22,000 rapes were reported in France, but fewer than 3 percent led to convictions. Expressing 'guarded optimism', Labed cautions that it is much too early to suggest the #MeToo movement has 'won'. She adds: 'We won't be satisfied until we have a comprehensive – and well-funded – policy of tackling violence against women and all forms of discrimination, whether it is based on gender, sexual orientation or race.' Words into action Likewise, much remains to be done within the film world to prevent such cases of abuse. In its final report, the parliamentary inquiry chaired by Rousseau made nearly 90 recommendations, including better safeguarding for children and women during castings and on set. It noted that the entertainment industry was often a 'talent shredder' while casting calls were 'a place of highest danger'. The key challenge now is for lawmakers and the industry to translate the report's findings into concrete action, says Sellier, noting that the 'defensive posture' adopted by many industry workers during parliamentary auditions 'begs the question of whether they have really grasped the scale of the problem'. Advocacy groups like ADA have welcomed a recent announcement by the National Centre for Cinema (CNC), which helps finance and promote French film productions, that it will expand training programmes to prevent abuse in the industry, including for festival executives. At a Cannes roundtable on Thursday, where a woman stood up to say she had been abused by an executive from the ACID independent festival, CNC director Gaëtan Bruel said the #MeToo movement had acted as an 'electroshock' forcing the film world to 'confront its darker sides'. Bruel, whose predecessor Dominique Boutonnat was forced to step down last year following a conviction for sexual assault, said the CNC might complement its current policy of financial 'incentives' for films that have gender parity on set with a policy of 'punishing' those that don't. Where are the men? Jodorowsky says she has recently witnessed progress in safeguarding actors on French film sets, spurred by the emergence of a new generation of filmmakers and actors who have greater awareness of these issues. She points to the growing practice of including so-called intimacy coordinators on film sets to ensure the well-being and consent of actors and better regulate intimate scenes. 'We've campaigned hard to ensure their work is recognised and to have a proper training programme for intimacy coordinators in film schools, because there was none in France,' she explains. 'Compared to the English-speaking world, we still have some catching up to do when it comes to making film sets truly safe environments,' adds Labed, whose directorial debut 'September & July' premiered in Cannes last year. 'But we're making progress.' Asked whether she felt that male actors were starting to play their part in denouncing and combating abuse, she answered with a straight, 'No'. 'Our male colleagues are simply not by our side. And when they're asked to testify in parliament, they do so behind closed doors,' Labed says. 'It proves that, yes, we're moving forward, but with the hand-brake pulled.'
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
How France's #MeToo Movement Is Transforming Cannes and the Country's Film Industry: ‘The Conditions Under Which Work Is Produced Matter'
This year's Cannes Film Festival kicked off with Gerard Depardieu's 18-month suspended sentence for sexual assault on two women during the filming of 'The Green Shutters.' While that case itself has nothing to do with the festival, the sentencing of Depardieu, once a frequent presence at Cannes, was a reminder of how far France has come in embracing the #MeToo movement it was initially slow to champion. And that wasn't the only sign of shifting attitudes in the country and its most prominent showcase for cinema when it comes to sexual violence. This year, Cannes has issued a new rule banning filmmakers or talent accused of sexual misconduct from walking the red carpet and presenting films at the festival. Because of the change, the festival forbid Theo Navarro-Mussy from attending the premiere of Dominik Moll's 'Case 137' because he has been accused of rape and sexual assault. Although the case against Navarro-Mussy was dropped, his accusers plan to lodge an appeal. More from Variety Cannes: Falling Palm Tree Injures Pedestrian, Closing Down Section of Croisette Producer Jason Michael Berman Hits Cannes With New A/Vantage Pictures and 'Highest 2 Lowest' Emma Stone Says 'Crazy S--' Got Fed Into Her Algorithms While Prepping for Surprising 'Eddington' Role: 'That Scared Me a Little Bit' It marks the first time in the festival's 78-year history that kind of ban has been put in place, and stands in stark contrast to previous years when Roman Polanski, Woody Allen and Johnny Depp were warmly received on the Croisette. Just four years ago, Depardieu, who had been indicted on rape charges in 2020, presented a movie, 'Robuste,' a year later as part of Critics' Week's opening night. Cannes isn't the only major French film institution to have altered its stance on actors and artists accused of sexual violence or harassment. Four years after awarding Polanski with its best director prize, the Cesar Awards issued a rule in 2025 that said that the Cesar board will suspend or expel members who are accused of acts of violence, particularly those of a sexist or sexual nature. During an interview with Variety ahead of Cannes, festival chief Thierry Frémaux said that Cannes 'must be vigilant' because it plays such a crucial role in the initial launch of these films. If it endorses an artist with a history of problematic behavior, it runs the risk of legitimizing that person. He said the festival will now '…guarantee that the films submitted have respected and continue respecting the safety, integrity and dignity of all contributors and comply with legal obligations.' In the previous two editions of the festival, some #MeToo concerns were raised, notably last year, when rumors started swirling that the investigative magazine Mediapart was preparing to drop a bombshell article detailing allegations against several actors whose films were playing at the festival. No article of the sort was every produced. However, earlier this year a French Parliamentary commission found that sexual harassment and sexual violence in the entertainment industry in France are 'endemic.' Its report has put pressure on the industry to change its practices. The National Film Board's new president, Gaetan Bruel, has promised that growing #MeToo concerns will be central to the way the organization behind the country's film subsidy program operates. 'Cinema has always had a mission to inspire, but in the past it has too often done so at the cost of behaviors that can no longer be tolerated today,' he said. 'The conditions under which work is produced matter.' Bruel said that beyond the ethical concerns raised by sexual violence on set, producers should also be concerned about the commercial damage that can be caused by casting talent who have been accused of sexual misconduct, highlighting several cases of movies that underperformed in theaters after filmmakers were embroiled in controversy. He specifically mentioned director Samuel Theis, who is under investigation for allegedly sexually assaulting a crew member in 2024 and whose film 'Je le jure' recently tanked. 'Not only is this kind of behavior simply unacceptable, but from the perspective of the future of our industry, if we don't listen to this, we risk fueling a form of disaffection among the general public,' Bruel said. Looking back at 2024, France's biggest media story was the country's #MeToo boom. After failing to gain real momentum in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal more than seven years ago, the feminist movement finally found its catalyst in 2024. It started out with the crusade of French actor Judith Godrèche, who called out abuses in the film world. But what shook the core of French society was the case of Gisele Pelicot, a 67-year-old retiree who discovered that her husband had drugged her and invited men to rape her at their home in the French Riviera for more than 10 years. The Pelicot trial, which received wall-to-wall coverage in France and across the globe, stretched over three months and sifted through 51 defendants, who were all found guilty. The trial culminated with a 20-year prison sentence for Dominique Pelicot, who admitted that he raped his wife and recruited strangers online to come to their home and abuse her while she was sedated. The remaining 50 defendants received prison sentences that varied between eight to 10 years. While Dominique Pelicot hasn't appealed the verdict, 17 of the other defendants have filed an appeal and will stand a second trial in late 2025. The extent of the media coverage for the Pelicot trial was unprecedented in France, says Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, a filmmaker who has dedicated his career to making documentaries and features about sexual violence, including 'Samber,' a limited series about a French serial rapist that explores the damages of sexual violence against women and children. De Lestrade says the persistent challenges in achieving widespread societal change in France is caused by a continued resistance and the influence of class and generational differences. But there has already been signs of a backlash to the movement. Caroline Fourest, a feminist and filmmaker, recently rocked the boat with a book called 'Le vertige MeToo' ('The #MeToo Vertigo'), which argued that all of the different alleged offenders were being painted with the same brush. There are gradations of offense, Fourest argued, even as she praised the movement for sparking a necessary debate around sexual abuse and power. 'The tricky part' with the way that #MeToo has taken shape in France 'is simply not to put everything under the #MeToo hashtag, so as not to wear it out and weaken it,' she said. 'When we end up confusing all cases or putting all situations on the same level, we end up treating them with the same emotion, we end up trivializing #MeToo, sometimes even ridiculing #MeToo, at a time when it needs to remain very relevant in order to be fully democratized.' Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival
Geek Vibes Nation
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Vibes Nation
‘Case 137 (Dossier 137)' Review - An Engaging, Razor-Sharp And Thought-Provoking Portrayal Of Police Repression
The French director Dominik Moll definitely has a love for gripping police stories. After creating the magnificent police thriller The Night of the 12th in 2022, in which police officers are trying to capture a ferocious killer, he's now once again returning to the world of police investigations, violence, and chauvinism. In Case 137 (original title: Dossier 137 ), the tables are turned, though, as this time, the cops are the criminals. Good becomes bad, and bad becomes even worse. The nearly two-hour-long movie, which is a slow-burning portrayal of police repression, brutality, and tension, becomes an immersive experience, during which you will start to question the integrity of the French police and if there's such a thing as a good cop anymore. While Case 137 certainly is a police drama, Moll doesn't overdo it with the dramatic element. Yes, the events happening in this feature are the dramatized version of the Yellow Vest protests in 2018, which led to violent conflicts, many injuries, and arrests in Paris and other major cities. Still, the movie itself isn't an over-the-top drama at all. That is because the filmmaker uses a much slower and organic approach in bringing the story to the big screen. The script by Moll and Gilles Marchand (Only The Animals) is almost a real-time depiction of Stéphanie Bertrand's (Léa Drucker) full-scale investigation. After working in narcotics for the last few years, she had to make the transition to IGPN, the Inspection Générale de la Police Nationale, which is the French equivalent of the Internal Affairs Bureau. Despite being seen as a traitor or being disloyal to her heroic colleagues – especially after they were the first ones on the horrific scenes after the Bataclan attacks – this conscientious police officer doesn't shy away from any case, no matter how much pressure from the outside she's feeling. Léa Drucker as Stéphanie Bertrand and Jonathan Turnbull as Benoit Guérini in 'Case 137' courtesy of Top and Cour Pressure that she's definitely feeling when case 137 lands on her desk. At the heart of it is a violent incident in which a young protester, Guillaume Girard (Côme Peronnet), sustained almost fatal injuries after being hit with flash-balls fired by riot police. Just like during a real-life painstaking investigation, she has to collect CCTV footage from the scene of the attack, interrogate culprits, extract cell phone footage, and gather even more written and visual evidence. On top of that, there's a lot of bureaucratic paperwork, forensic verification, and sceptical news broadcasts she has to deal with. This mix of media gives much more structure and authenticity to the film and the investigation, especially when Stéphanie's evidence is combined with real archival footage. Steadily but slowly, Stéphanie and her IGPN partners Benoit Guérini (Jonathan Turnbull) and Camille Delarue (Mathilde Roehrich) build up the case. As the audience member, you go along with her during every phase of her investigation. You don't have information that Stéphanie doesn't have, and vice versa. Like any long-lasting, meticulously planned investigation, Case 137 evokes important questions. These questions are not only for Stéphanie herself but also for the audience. Should she help her colleagues keep France safe when it's struggling with internal riots instead of interrogating them? Is her job the reason why 'everyone hates the police'? When does passionately gathering evidence become stalking and cutting corners? Those are all questions that arise throughout this feature. On top of that, you also start to question whether Stéphanie is a good mother, especially when she comes home late to spend time with her son. Léa Drucker as Stéphanie Bertrand in 'Case 137' courtesy of Top and Cour Because of many questions and the male-dominated world that's riddled with corruption, sexism, and abuse, she has to be determined, unwavering, and unafraid to stand up for what she believes in, and those characteristics come true in Drucker's ( Up to the Guard , Close) engaging central acting. Her performance oozes the intelligence, headstrongness, and focus of a female officer trying to get justice in a divided and politically biased country. The rest of the supporting cast does an impeccable job as well, especially Turnbull ( Paris Memories ), who offers both the seriousness and the necessary humour, and Guslagie Malanda ( The Beast , Saint-Omer ), whose radiant screen presence as one of the witnesses fills the movie with raw emotions and humanity. What could have been a dry and boring exposition of a police investigation like any other is anything but that. While there are a few moments when the intensity of the story decreases a little bit, the movie ultimately becomes an engaging, razor-sharp, and thought-provoking portrayal of contemporary law enforcement in Paris. Case 137 (Dossier 137) held its World Premiere in the competition section of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. Director: Dominik Moll Screenwriters: Dominik Moll, Gilles Marchand Rated: NR Runtime: 115m
Mint
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
Cannes Film Festival: Dossier 137 actor Theo Navarro-Mussy, accused of sexual assault, banned from red carpet premiere
The Cannes Film Festival has made a bold statement on accountability in cinema, banning French actor Theo Navarro-Mussy from attending the red carpet premiere of Dossier 137 amid serious allegations of sexual violence. Navarro-Mussy was expected to appear Thursday (May 15) evening alongside the cast and crew of Dominik Moll's Dossier 137, a Palme d'Or contender that follows a police investigation into alleged brutality. However, Festival Delegate General Thierry Frémaux intervened after learning of official complaints lodged against the actor by three women, involving accusations of rape and both physical and psychological abuse between 2018 and 2020. Although the case was dismissed in April 2025, the plaintiffs have announced their intention to appeal as civil parties, meaning legal proceedings are still ongoing. Speaking to Télérama, the publication that first broke the story, Frémaux said, 'Because there is an appeal and therefore a continuation of the investigation, the case is not suspended.' The decision marks a rare move from Cannes, which has not previously formalised its stance on participants facing allegations of sexual misconduct. Frémaux appears to have drawn on the precedent set by France's César Academy, whose guidelines prohibit individuals under investigation for violent offences from attending or receiving honours until legal outcomes are finalised. A festival spokesperson confirmed the accuracy of the Télérama report, reinforcing Cannes' decision to distance itself from figures facing unresolved allegations. Dossier 137, starring Léa Drucker, premiered at Cannes on May 15 and is slated for French theatrical release on November 19, 2025. The film is written and directed by Dominik Moll.
