Posted on May 16, 2023 at 1:20pm ET
CANNES, France — After one of France’s leading actresses, Adèle Haenel, announced she was leaving the French film industry that she had denounced as a “consensual sex offender,” Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Frémaux dismissed his criticism when he spoke to the media on Monday. . .
Haenel, star of the 2019 Cannes Portrait of a Lady on Fire, published an open letter in Télérama magazine, in which the 34-year-old said Cannes and other corners of the French film industry were “willing to do anything to defend them from rape.” bosses. ».
Fremaux disagreed sharply when he spoke to reporters ahead of the festival kicking off Tuesday with the premiere of Maïwenn’s landmark “Jeanne du Barry” starring Johnny Depp.
“There is no doubt that she was compelled, for quite radical reasons, to make this comment about Cannes, which was clearly untrue,” Frémaux said.
In 2019, Haenel accused French director Christophe Ruggia of sexually harassing her for years, starting when she was 12 years old. Rugia denied it. Since then, Henel has publicly protested what she describes as an inadequate response to sexual abuse in the French film industry. At César 2020, it withdrew from the ceremony after Roman Polanski was elected Best Director.
In his notes, Fremaux specifically addresses Haenel’s criticisms at Cannes. When she came to the festival with Celine Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire, he said: “You didn’t think about it when you came to Cannes unless you experienced some crazy dissonance.
“The proof is that if you believed it, you wouldn’t be here, listening to me now, getting your credits and complaining about the usurper party press shows,” Fremo told the assembled reporters.
The impact of the #MeToo movement was discussed in Cannes, one of the oldest and most prestigious film festivals in the world. Harvey Weinstein has been a prominent presence at Cannes for years, and there have been some alleged incidents of sexual assault against the producer during the festival.
Cannes has also traditionally seen a low proportion of women filmmakers in prestigious competition programming, with only two female directors winning the Palme d’Or: Jane Campion in 1993 with “Le Piano” and Giulia Decorno in 2021 with “Titan”. In 2018, 82 women led a red carpet protest in Cannes. The following year, Frémaux succumbed to pressure by signing a pledge promising to work towards greater gender parity.
Fremaux acknowledged that the festival had an issue with gender inclusion. “Maybe I was clumsy,” he said. This year, there are a record seven films directed by women out of 21 in competition, which he says reflects the growing importance of female filmmakers around the world.
Now he added, “When we hesitate between a film made by a man or a film made by a woman, we choose the one made by the woman. But only when we hesitate.
“All of this shows progress,” Fremo said.
At the same time, Cannes has sometimes been accused of giving too much hospitality to some men accused of misconduct. Polanski returned to the festival in 2017. This year, some expected Woody Allen’s latest film to premiere at Cannes, but it didn’t make the list. When asked about it, Fremaux said he would only talk about the films that were picked up.
Despite this, Fremaux was asked about the casting of “Jeanne du Barry” as the opening night film. The film, which also stars Maïwenn, is Depp’s first since the high-profile lawsuit he filed with ex-wife Amber Heard. Depp and Heard accused each other of physical and verbal abuse, and a civil jury awarded Depp $10 million in damages and $2 million. In December, they reached a settlement.
“To tell you the truth, I have only one rule in my life, and that is freedom of thought, freedom of expression, and freedom of action within a legal framework,” Fremo said. “If Johnny Depp had been banned from acting in a movie, or if the movie had been banned, we wouldn’t be talking about him here.”
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Cannes has also traditionally seen a low percentage of women filmmakers in the lineup of prestigious competitions, with only two female directors winning the Palme d’Or: Jane Campion in 1993 with “The Piano” and Julia DeCourneau in 2021 with “Titan”. In 2018, 82 women led a red carpet protest in Cannes. The following year, Fremaux bowed to pressure, signing a pledge promising to strive for greater parity between the sexes.
Fremaux acknowledged that the festival had a problem with gender inclusivity. “Maybe I was clumsy,” he said. This year, there are a record seven films directed by women out of 21 in competition, which he said reflects the growing importance of women filmmakers around the world.
Now he added, “When we hesitate between a film made by a man or a film made by a woman, we will choose the one directed by the woman. But only when we hesitate.”
“All of this shows progress,” Fremo said.
At the same time, Cannes has sometimes been accused of being too welcoming to some men accused of misconduct. Polanski returned to the festival in 2017. This year, some were expecting Woody Allen’s latest film to premiere in Cannes, but it wasn’t on the list. Asked about it, Fremaux said he will only talk about the films that have been selected.
Despite this, Fremaux was questioned about the casting of “Jeanne du Barry” as the opening night film. The film, which also stars Maïwenn, is Depp’s first since his high-profile trial with ex-wife Amber Heard. Depp and Heard accused each other of physical and verbal abuse, and a civil jury awarded Depp $10 million in damages and $2 million to Heard.
“To tell you the truth, in my life I only have one rule, and that is freedom of thought, freedom of expression, and freedom of action within a legal framework,” Fremo said. “If Johnny Depp had been banned from acting in a movie, or the movie had been banned, we wouldn’t be talking about him here.”
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