Cannes festival director Thierry Fremaux responds to French actress Adèle Haenel’s claims that the annual festival has backed “sex offenders” such as director Roman Polanski and actor Gerard Depardieu.
Haenel, who publicly announced his retirement from acting in March 2022, wrote an open letter last week criticizing the Cannes Film Festival for protecting perpetrators of sexual abuse. “They join hands (to protect) the (Gerard) Depardieus, the (Roman) Polanskis, the (Dominique) Boutonnats,” wrote Haenel. “It annoys them that the victims make too much noise. They preferred us to disappear and die in silence”.
He added that Cannes was “ready to do anything to defend its raping bosses” and said that the French industry has effectively “cancelled” its #MeToo movement.
Now, Cannes festival director Fremaux has defended the festival against Haenel’s “radical” and “false” comments.
“It’s very radical, but it’s an incorrect comment,” Fremaux said. “It’s out of place. She didn’t think so when she came to Cannes, unless she was suffering from a crazy dissonance. Now she’s talking like this.
Fremaux continued: “People use the Cannes Film Festival to talk about the world’s problems. I think that’s fine… but you wouldn’t be here complaining about not being able to get tickets if you thought we were all rapists.”
The 2023 Cannes Film Festival sparked controversy after ‘Jeanne du Barry’ starring Johnny Depp was selected as the opening night film. Writer/director/star Maïwenn was accused of assaulting a French journalist; she recently confirmed the allegations.
“I don’t know Johnny Depp’s image in the United States,” Fremaux said. “To tell you the truth, in my life, I have only one rule, it’s freedom of thought, and freedom of speech and action within a legal framework.”
In a previous interview, Fremaux also talked about not including Woody Allen’s “Coup de Chance” or Roman Polanski’s “The Palace.”
“The Polanski, we haven’t seen it. Woody Allen is a bit special, I saw him without seeing him,” Fremaux said in an interview translated by IndieWire. “The film was not a candidate. We also know that if his film is shown in Cannes, the controversy would take the upper hand against his film, against the other films».
Allen’s last film screened at Cannes was 2016’s ‘Café Society’. Polanski debuted ‘Based on a true story’ at Cannes 2017.
“Portrait of a Lady on Fire” actress Haenel walked out on the 2020 César Awards as Polanski picked up the Best Director award for “An Officer and a Spy”; that same year, she accused French director Christophe Ruggia of sexually assaulting her when she was 12 on the set of “The Devils.” Ruggia denied the 2020 allegations and still faces trial after being formally indicted.
