Latest news with #TheSpanishApartment
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Terrifying' French film abuses report prompts calls for change
A French inquiry into abuses in the entertainment sector was branded as "terrifying" by a leading actress on Wednesday as MPs called on the industry to stamp out the "endemic" mistreatment of performers. The parliamentary inquiry, which reported its findings publicly on Wednesday, interviewed some of the biggest names in French cinema among the 350 people who testified about their experiences. "The professional entertainment world needs to listen, read and take on board what is in the report," the head of the cross-party investigation, Sandrine Rousseau, told reporters at a press conference in Paris. Campaigners hope that the conclusions can help bring about a sea-change in the French film, TV and other performing arts sectors that have been hit by a series of public sexual abuse scandals in recent years. "It's impressive and rather terrifying," said French actress Judith Godreche, whose allegations about abuse at the hands of two French directors sparked the inquiry. "But I'm not surprised because I didn't expect anything better," the 53-year-old, who appeared in "The Spanish Apartment" and "The Man in the Iron Mask", told Franceinfo radio station. The parliamentary inquiry concluded that "moral, sexist, and sexual violence in the cultural sector is systemic, endemic, and persistent" and made nearly 90 recommendations including better safeguarding for children and women during castings and on set. Rousseau called on the Cannes Film Festival, which begins next month, to set an example. "The Cannes Film Festival must be the place where this shift in mindset happens, 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," she added. The annual gathering of the world's film elite on the French Riviera is set to begin on May 13, with festival organisers set to reveal the 2025 line-up of films on Thursday. - Depardieu trial - The first day of Cannes this year will coincide with the verdict in the first sexual assault trial of French film legend Gerard Depardieu which gripped the country last month. Depardieu, who is accused of assaulting two women on the set of a film in 2021, is the highest-profile figure to face criminal accusations following the #MeToo movement which encouraged women to speak out against violence. The parliamentary inquiry called into question a prevalent view in France that abusive behaviour by top cultural figures can be excused in the name of art. "The 'cultural exception', but at what price?" it asks. "In our country, there's a cult of talent and creative genius," Erwan Balanant, a centrist MP on the commission, told AFP. Some of France's biggest silver-screen stars agreed to testify to the inquiry including Juliette Binoche, Jean Dujardin and Pierre Niney, but usually behind closed doors and sometimes on condition that their remarks were not made public. Actor Sara Forestier, who was present at Wednesday's press conference, told MPs in November how she had repeatedly said "no" to directors who wanted to sleep with her and who threatened to take roles away if she refused. "Until the day I said 'no' one too many times -- and I paid the price for it," she added, recounting how she had to leave a shoot in 2017 after allegedly being slapped. bur-adp/phz
Local France
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Local France
Abuse in French entertainment sector ‘endemic', inquiry finds
The inquiry, led by MP Sandrine Rousseau, was spurred by allegations from Judith Godreche who accused two French directors of abusing her when she was a teenager. In a damning final report, seen by AFP ahead of its release on Wednesday, the inquiry accused the entertainment sector of being a 'talent grinding machine' and made 86 recommendations to better protect actors and children on set. 'Moral, sexist, and sexual violence in the cultural sector is systemic, endemic, and persistent,' read a conclusion from Rousseau, who has overseen six months of hearings that saw testimony from 350 people in the film, theatre and TV sectors. The report follows the sexual assault trial last month of actor Gerard Depardieu, who is the highest-profile figure to face criminal accusations following the #MeToo movement which encouraged women to speak out against violence. #MeToo was publicly resisted by some in the French entertainment sector when it first emerged in 2017, including actress Catherine Deneuve, who saw it as a puritan American import that encouraged the airing of unsubstantiated allegations. Depardieu, who faces accusations from around a dozen women, was backed by 60 film and art figures in a 2023 petition, while President Emmanuel Macron has called him a 'towering actor' who 'makes France proud'. Depardieu denies the allegations and told his trial that he 'adored' women and was not a 'groper'. A verdict is due on May 13. The report questions the prevalent view in France that abusive behaviour by top cultural figures can be excused in the name of art. 'The 'cultural exception', but at what price?' it asks. Advertisement 'In our country, there's a cult of talent and creative genius,' Erwan Balanant, a centrist MP on the commission, told AFP. Some of France's leading film stars agreed to testify to the parliamentary inquiry including Juliette Binoche, Jean Dujardin and Pierre Niney, but usually behind closed doors and sometimes on condition that their remarks were not made public. Some of the strongest testimony came from Godreche, 53, who railed against the 'impunity' in the film industry and 'inaction' from its leading lights. 'There's not a single person from my past with an established role in the cinema world – and therefore, in positions of power ... who has written to me since I spoke out," said the actress who appeared in The Spanish Apartment , The Man in the Iron Mask , and Potiche , which featured Depardieu. Fellow actress Sara Forestier described in November how she had repeatedly said 'no' to directors who wanted to sleep with her and who threatened to take roles away if she refused. 'Until the day I said 'no' one too many times – and I paid the price for it,' she said, recounting how she had to leave a shoot in 2017 after allegedly being slapped by an actor, later identified as Nicolas Duvauchelle. Jean Dujardin, an Oscar winner in 2012 for The Artist , conceded that some male actors might have failed to denounce abuse in the past, but that attitudes were changing. 'We don't see everything – and perhaps we don't want to see,' Dujardin, 52, said, according to a transcript published last month. Advertisement He added that 'we no longer say what we used to say 10 or 15 years ago, and we won't say the same things in 10 years either... I feel that sexist reactions and clumsy remarks are gradually disappearing'. In mid-March, veteran celebrity agent Dominique Besnehard challenged some of the testimony from actresses about sexual abuse, leading to a clash with Rousseau who accused him of making 'derogatory remarks'. 'When I was an agent, I saw some actresses cross the line a little. You don't go to a hotel with a director,' Besnehard said. Gilles Lellouche, a widely admired French star who voices Obelix in the Asterix animated films, recounted an experience involving a woman director who tried to 'seduce' him. 'I didn't feel violently attacked – it was things like hands under my shirt. If I had done the same to a woman, it wouldn't have been okay,' he said.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
French MPs slam 'endemic' abuse in entertainment sector
French MPs have criticised "endemic" abuse in the entertainment sector after a months-long inquiry into sexual violence that saw stars and other actors reveal instances of bullying and assault. The inquiry, led by feminist Greens MP Sandrine Rousseau, was spurred by allegations from Judith Godreche who accused two French directors -- Benoit Jacquot and Jacques Doillon -- of abusing her when she was a teenager. Both deny the charges. In a final damning report, seen by AFP ahead of its release on Wednesday, the inquiry accused the entertainment sector of being a "talent grinding machine" and made 86 recommendations to better protect actors and children on set. "Moral, sexist, and sexual violence in the cultural sector is systemic, endemic, and persistent," read a conclusion from Rousseau who has overseen six months of hearings that saw testimony from 350 people in the film, theatre and TV sectors. The report comes following the sexual assault trial last month of screen legend Gerard Depardieu, who is the highest-profile figure to face criminal accusations following the #MeToo movement which encouraged women to speak out against violence. #MeToo was publicly resisted by some in the French entertainment sector when it first emerged in 2017, including actress Catherine Deneuve, who saw it as a puritan American import that encouraged unsubstantiated allegations to be aired. Depardieu, who faces accusations from around a dozen women, was backed by 60 film and art figures in a 2023 petition, while President Emmanuel Macron has called him a "towering actor" who "makes France proud". The report questions the prevalent view in France that law-breaking behaviour by top cultural figures can be excused in the name of art. "The 'cultural exception', but at what price?" the report asks. "In our country, there's a cult of talent and creative genius," Erwan Balanant, a centrist MP on the commission, told AFP. - Saying 'no' - Some of France's biggest stars agreed to testify to the parliamentary inquiry including Juliette Binoche, Jean Dujardin and Pierre Niney, but usually behind closed doors and sometimes on condition that their remarks were not made public. Some of the strongest remarks came from Godreche, 53, who railed against the "impunity" in the film industry and the "inaction" of its leading lights. "There's not a single person from my past with an established role in the cinema world -- and therefore, in positions of power ... who has written to me since I spoke out," said the actress who appeared in "The Spanish Apartment", "The Man in the Iron Mask", or "Potiche", which featured Depardieu. Fellow actress Sara Forestier described in November how she had repeatedly said "no" to directors who wanted to sleep with her and who threatened to take roles away if she refused. "Until the day I said 'no' one too many times -- and I paid the price for it," she added, recounting how she had to leave a shoot in 2017 after allegedly being slapped by an actor, who was later identified as Nicolas Duvauchelle. Jean Dujardin, an Oscar winner in 2012 for his turn in "The Artist", conceded that some male actors might have failed to denounce abuse in the past, but that attitudes were changing. "We don't see everything -- and perhaps we don't want to see," Dujardin, 52, said, according to a transcript published last month. He added that "we no longer say what we used to say 10 or 15 years ago, and we won't say the same things in 10 years either... I feel that sexist reactions and clumsy remarks are gradually disappearing". jt-fbe-adp/phz
