She has become one of the figures in the fight against sexual violence in French cinema and does not intend to stop there in her fight. Actress and director Judith Godrèche will present a short film on sexual violence on May 15, during the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, Agence France-Presse learned on Tuesday May 7 from the organizers.
This film, Me Too, will be presented during the opening ceremony of the parallel section Un Certain Regard, as well as at the Cinéma de la plage. It “highlights the stories of victims of sexual violence. So many individual experiences which add to their own and underline their sadly universal character”, writes the festival in its press release, which “thus wishes to make these testimonies resonate”.
Lasting seventeen minutes, Judith Godrèche made this short film after her powerful speech at the Césars ceremony on February 23, where she denounced the “level of impunity, denial and privilege” of the cinema industry regarding sexual violence.
A commission of inquiry created at the National Assembly
“Exactly one month after this salutary speech, on March 23, 2024, Judith Godrèche seized the two means of expression that she knows best – writing and cinema – and brought together women and men who testified to their traumatic experience,” explains the Cannes Film Festival.
The actress launched a call for testimonials on Instagram. “Then the question arose what I was going to do with it. What do we do when we are overwhelmed by what we hear, by the quantity of testimonies? », confides the actress, quoted in the press release. Without revealing the content of the short film, the Festival lets us guess that it will talk about music and collective dance, in which a thousand women and men will participate.
Judith Godrèche, 52, filed a complaint at the beginning of the year against directors Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon for rape and sexual and physical violence which dates back to her adolescence.
These accusations, for acts that the latter deny, and the positions of Judith Godrèche have led to a new movement to free the voices of victims in the cinema sector, seven years after the birth of the movement.
The National Assembly approved, on May 2, the creation of a commission of inquiry into “abuses and violence” in cinema, audiovisual, performing arts, fashion and advertising, giving substance to a request of the actress. On the legal front, a preliminary investigation was opened in Paris against the two directors.
