The Académie des César saves his skin.
In the turmoil following the Sofiane Bennacer affair, the institution of French cinema decided on Monday January 2 to withdraw, for its next ceremony, the people implicated "for acts of violence".
Thus, from now on, if one of the nominees is indicted or sentenced for acts of violence (particularly of a sexual or sexist nature), he cannot be invited to the award ceremony, nor to any of the events assigned to him. associates.
The academy, however, remains opaque on the award ceremonies, but a priori an accused – although absent – could still be rewarded.
On video, Weinstein trial: the case that shook Hollywood
The recent announcement of the Academy is in any case a first step to break with the controversies that have punctuated the last editions.
Because when it comes to embarrassing controversies, we must give back to the Caesars what belongs to the Caesars.
The ceremonies that have taken place since 1976 have not always been smooth sailing.
We take stock.
1986: the kiss of the Gainsbourgs
Moment of embarrassment during the 1986 ceremony, at the announcement of the César for best female hope.
On screen, Serge Gainsbourg, cigarette in hand, kisses his daughter Charlotte full on the mouth, rewarded for her role in
L'effrontée
.
An evening that Jane Birkin, who we see kissing her 15-year-old daughter so briefly, evoked in volume 2 of her diary,
Post-Scriptum
, where she described a Gainsbourg "farted as a quince" even before the start of ceremony.
Charlotte Gainsbourg talks about this period of her life in the magazine
M
as something "hard for a child to live through".
“He made me go too far, do things that bothered me,” she adds.
It's a safe bet that such a scene today would cause a stir.
1994: Luchini and his
“enormous” stubbornness
Fabrice Luchini was in charge, this year of 1994, of presenting the César for Best Film alongside the actress Clémentine Célarié.
The latter had arrived on stage in a dress close to the body, with a basket neckline.
An outfit that had caused a somewhat long sequence, during which the actor stared insistently at the actress' chest, licking his lips and touching her arms, after graciously commenting "It's huge".
A moment of hilarity for the public at the time, which we watch today with gnashing of teeth.
2017: Polanski president of the Césars
Considered a fugitive in the United States since 1977 following a case of rape of a minor, and accused by eleven other women of sexual abuse, the director had been chosen to preside over the 42nd Cesar ceremony.
While he had already been twice rewarded by the Academy (in 1980 and 2003), his appointment had caused an uproar.
A petition had been launched for his withdrawal, signed more than 60,000 times.
Laurence Rossignol, then Minister for Women's Rights, had even denounced “an indifference with regard to the facts of which he is accused” and “a kind of banality with regard to rape”.
A general indignation which had ended up convincing the director to give up the post.
2020: Polanski's coronation, "we get up and we break"
While in 2019, photographer Valentine Monnier testified in turn against Roman Polanski, the Franco-Polish filmmaker had canceled his visit to the Césars.
But despite the controversy, the 45th ceremony, held on February 28, 2020, saw him awarded the prize for Best Director for his film
J'accuse
.
This coronation had prompted the actress Adèle Haenel to leave the room, chanting "shame!".
Céline Sciamma, Noémie Merlant, Aïssa Maïga and others followed suit, while the mistress of ceremonies, Florence Foresti, did not return to the stage after the announcement of the result.
Meanwhile, anger rumbled outside the Salle Pleyel in the ranks of feminist activists gathered for the occasion.
A moment erected as “the most beautiful image, in forty-five years of ceremony” by the author Virginie Despentes, transforming this sequence into a mantra, in her tribune for Liberation,: “Now we get up and we break”.
In video, Feminist activists demonstrate on the sidelines of the César 2020
2020: Brisseau "forgotten" from the tribute to the dead
During this same ceremony of February 28, 2020, the Academy had broadcast the traditional retrospective of tribute to the men and women of cinema who died during the last twelve months.
Jean-Claude Brisseau, director of
White Wedding
and
Secret Things,
sentenced to one year in prison for sexual harassment in 2005 and died in March 2019, had been ousted.
A decision that had angered his partner, Lisa Hérédia, who had described this omission as "stabbing, spitting, second death".
Read alsoRose McGowan gets angry with Roman Polanski's nominations for the Césars
2023: an edition that still raises questions
After two seemingly calmer ceremonies following the Covid-19 crisis - simply punctuated by a shock appearance by Corinne Masiero, naked on stage in 2021 to defend the condition of intermittent workers -, the institution of French cinema is once again in his little shoes.
The revelations of November 23 on the indictment of Sofiane Bennacer for "rape" and "violence on spouse" had the effect of a bomb.
The accusations weighing on the main actor of the
Amandiers
de Valeria Bruni Tedeschi had led to his rapid ousting from the list of male revelations 2023.
The new shelving policy, unveiled on January 2 and echoing the case, remains very moderate, however.
Those implicated "for acts of violence" can always receive a prize, like Gérard Depardieu.
The actor, indicted since December 2020 for rape and sexual harassment, could be nominated for his film
Maigret
.
If he were to be rewarded, he would simply be deprived of stage presence and speech.