In the esteemed magazine The French Film, the Minister of Culture has voiced her concerns about the errors in the seventh art. Her speech comes just a few hours before the 49th César ceremony, which is being held at the famed Olympia venue. The backdrop for the event is an ongoing discourse on freedom of speech and the issue of sexual violence within the industry.
Rachida Dati, the Minister of Culture, has denounced what she refers to as “collective blindness, a blindness that lasted for years” regarding the issue of sexual violence in French cinema. Her remarks were published in Friday’s edition of The French Film.
Her poignant speech has been delivered just a few hours ahead of the 49th César ceremony, which will take place Friday evening at the Olympia. The event is set against a backdrop of open dialogue regarding sexual violence in the medium of the seventh art.
The minister stated, “Today, an entire system is becoming aware of its collective blindness, a blindness that has lasted for years,” highlighting the positive actions taken by actress Judith Godrèche.
Godrèche has become the leading figure of the French #MeToo movement after she filed a complaint against directors Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon, accusing them of sexual and physical violence during her adolescence. The directors have since refuted these allegations.
Rachida Dati recalled Godrèche’s words, “Judith Godrèche said such simple things. She said: ‘I was a child. You saw everything and no one said anything, no one reached out to me…’
The minister continued, “This is not a reality that I am discovering today. It’s not for nothing that I became a magistrate. I believe in justice. These crimes, when they are not prescribed, which is unfortunately often the case, must be punished.”
Rachida Dati went on to say, “Creative freedom is total but here, we are not talking about art, we are talking about child crime. Having sexual relations with a minor under the age of fifteen is a crime.” She concluded by saying, “It’s a profound questioning that is opening up for French cinema.”
