#MeToo Movement Continues in French Cinema

The French actress, Sarah Grappin, recently accused the director Alain Corneau of sexual assault. Grappin alleges that she was subjected to a controlling relationship with the director, which started in the 1990s when she was only 16 and he was 52.

Grappin’s accusations follow a series of complaints made by fellow actress Judith Godrèche against filmmakers Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon. Grappin states that she only realized the gravity of her situation after reading The Consent by Vanessa Spingora and hearing Judith Godrèche’s story. She drew parallels between Godrèche’s relationship with Benoît Jacquot and her own with Alain Corneau, who had given her her first acting role in his film The New World in 1994.

Unwanted Physical Advances

Grappin describes her first encounter with Corneau during the filming of The New World, in which he initiated a kiss. This incident marked the beginning of an uncomfortable relationship that lasted one and a half years, during which Corneau would often invite her to dinners, movie outings, or to his home.

She narrates an incident to The Obs where Corneau, dressed in an Indian sari, initiated unwanted physical contact with her. She also recounts two other instances of unwelcome advances in the director’s car. These incidents allegedly took place when Corneau’s companion, Nadine Trintignant, was not present. Grappin states, “For a very long time, I went beyond embellishing, I told myself a great love story to survive. The work of recent years has been to come out of denial”.

Nadine Trintignant, contacted by the weekly, dismissed these accusations as «ridiculous», stating “I hear this nonsense from all sides, not at all about Alain, but about lots of people and I don’t want to take part in all that. This is all ridiculous. It’s not against you, but it’s against the way people say nonsense. I don’t want people to say anything, especially about my husband, who is dead and can no longer defend himself.”