At the Cannes Film Festival, “we don’t give a damn” about violent men

There are no warnings. There is no shortage of open letters, petitions, testimonies, trials, sentences that prove itit is urgent that the world of cinema begin a serious examination of conscience which hasn’t happened yet. A paradox, as pointed out by our colleagues from Mediapart Marine Turchi and Lénaïg Bredoux, as cinema was immediately affected by the #MeToo movement, whose media coverage arose following revelations that directly affected the industry, in particular through one of its most powerful producers, Harvey Weinstein.

However, much of the film world seems to pretend to ignore it, in the name of now sacrosanct” separation between man and artist”.

Asked by Karim Rissouli about the choice of the Festival to pay homage to a film (not as extraordinary as the one at that) by giving the leading role to Johnny Depp, the general delegate of the Festival retorted, without batting an eyelid, thathe didn’t know.

“I don’t care a bit”

NO, Thierry Frémaux did not know this. Thierry Frémaux “wasn’t aware” of the existence of the much publicized Depp-Heard trial, allegations of violence, unprecedented cyberbullying… Because Thierry Frémaux doesn’t read newspapers, he says, he probably doesn’t have a TV (we assume) and doesn’t go never on social media.

Not even he knows ” the image of Johnny Depp in the United States ». He is mostly interested in Depp “as an actor”. And especially, he doesn’t care a bit. Yes, you read right. Replying to a shocked Laure Adler, she says, word for word: “No, well, I was aware of that, but I don’t care at all. »

Who could believe that Thierry Frémaux didn’t know?

Thierry Frémaux did not know this. Have you ever heard a worse excuse? Moreover, it is an excuse? Does not knowing justify not questioning a questionable and questionable choice? Does not knowing finally validate this choice, as if nothing had happened? “Oh, I didn’t know that, but let’s not change anything. ” Next to, “to separate the man from the artist » it almost seemed more convincing…

Because who could believe for a single second that Thierry Frémaux, as general delegate of the Festival, didn’t know this? That he was completely unaware of this process? Perhaps Frémaux lives in isolation, there are those who prefer to distance themselves from often distressing news to preserve themselves, ok. But in the position that belongs to him, that of public figure of the largest film festival in the world, was there no one to inform him that his choice would surely have to be reviewed? : “You know Thierry, Depp, he’s got a couple of frying pans on his back”… Let’s imagine that if.

So, Thierry Frémaux is making fun of us? No doubt. What is certain, since he says it himself, is that it has nothing to do with it.

Personally, “I don’t care a bit”is what I answer when, after a tiring day at work, my spouse asks me if I prefer to eat pasta or pizzaor let him teach me PSG won their last match, even if I don’t like football. Or when the salesman of a shop offers me a loyalty card for the fiftieth time which I do not need, but which would allow me to accumulate “5 euros for every 100 euros of purchases”.

“It is the equivalent of a slap in the face to all victims of gender-based and sexual violence”

But we can seriously “fuck” a problem actor (to say the least), a fortiori when it comes to making him the reference figure of one of the most publicized cultural events in the world? We can pretend we don’t know that Johnny Depp was an abusive husband, as evidenced by the verdict given in his trial against the Sunwhich highlights it “the vast majority of the alleged assaults (against Amber Heard, ed) have been proven”. Can we pretend to ignore the symbol that constitutes his big comeback on a red carpet, embodying a monarch? It is the equivalent of a slap in the face to all victims of sexist and sexual violence.

We must remember that we are not talking not just any business. Never has a trial been so followed and publicized, and never has a public figure suffered so much hate and violence on social media as Amber Heard during her trial against Johnny Depp. Just look at Cécile Delarue’s very instructive and revolting documentary, which we highly recommend to Thierry Frémaux.

The Cannes Film Festival is political, it is its essence

Let’s hear who will say that the Cannes Film Festival must be above all centered on art, “the seventh art, at all costs”. This is obviously false. And that’s the problem. Cannes has always been political, is also in its DNA and at the very foundations of the Festival. We recall that its creation took place in response to fascism, which had invited itself to the Venice Film Festival in 1938. The objective of the Festival was to support a cinema “where art would not be influenced by political maneuvering ». This prejudice was, in fact, political, making cinema a field of free expression to convey messages, whatever they arebut that say a lot about our world.

This new edition could have been that of awareness. But the message it carries shows rather than financial matters come first. Because that’s what this is about. To deny it is to ignore how much Gender-based and sexual violence belongs to a system that protects aggressors, a fortiori when there are strong financial interests. The Depp case at the opening of the Cannes Film Festival is an example. Because in the end, not the nicest pub (and also free) made for this movie?

Do you like our articles? You will love our newsletters! Sign up for free on this page.