Committed to women, in her artistic choices as in her unwavering support for many causes, the actress and producer highlights them again in
Together we are stronger (1),
a first book co-written with Mathieu Busson.
Using a simple and generous pen that resembles her, she paints the portrait of six women and one man working daily for equality between men and women, concretely, in the medical, legal, social and political fields... Through these inspiring and reconciling stories, the intimate foundations of his activism also emerge implicitly.
Encounter.
In video, Benjamin Biolay and Julie Gayet, "In the Merco Benz", the video clip
Miss Figaro.
– How did you choose the fighters you describe?
Julie Gayet.
–
All of them embody issues that women face.
Lunise Marquis is endometriosis, and Gwenaëlle Perrousset, crisis management for victims of domestic violence.
Georgette Chastanet evokes the cycle and resilience of victims, and Marie Cervetti, the reintegration of isolated women.
Valence Borgia, lawyer, is the recognition of rights, and Anne-Cécile Mailfert, the idea of uniting, of getting politicians moving with her Women's Foundation.
The only man, the international voice too, is Dr. Denis Mukwege, who is confronted with all this, and more, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
These women are little known to the general public…
The Gisèle Halimi of tomorrow, those who will be mentioned in twenty years, can come from all walks of life.
If my commitment was born, it is thanks to these inspiring women, anonymous and in the field, whom I met and whom we do not highlight enough.
Through them, I wanted to talk about doing, everyday life, the link that brings people together, in action and not in speech.
It corresponds to my deep nature.
If I became an entrepreneur, producer, founder of a festival, it is to give voices other than my own to be heard and to promote talents and backgrounds.
Less than a quarter of French films are directed by women, and they still get 45% less budget
Julie Gayet
Why now ?
When we made the documentary
Cinéast(e)s
with Mathieu Busson, with whom I also co-wrote the book, many started by telling us that the representation of women was not a subject, that we had to move on .
I then asked myself the question of the legitimacy of the film.
Ten years later, thanks to studies with figures, we have become more aware of inequalities: less than a quarter of French films are made by women, and they still get 45% less budget.
By focusing on the concrete, I wanted to once again put the church back in the center of the village: what argument can we oppose to the tangible, to the daily reality of those who are fighting, together, for increasingly holistic care?
“
Speech is so polarized that it is difficult to be heard when defending nuance
”
Do you feel increased listening over time?
Above all, I sense a force of opposition.
When I was young, feminism was a dirty word, so caricatured.
Today, it is the term "wokism" that is mocked to discredit the fight.
We continue to distribute good and bad points, sometimes forgetting that it is a necessary thought.
The idea is not to destroy society, but to enrich it with undervalued and underused voices.
However, the speeches are so polarized that it is difficult to be heard when defending nuance.
My commitment, like that of the women and men I am talking about, is one of equality, increased vigilance and concrete actions.
The other causes will advance better when the
You also talk about yourself intimately in these pages.
We are all the fruit of the violence that preceded us.
I tell it in the book, but my mother, my absolute model, said to me one day in the street: "He's dead."
I immediately knew the violence she evoked behind these words, even though she had never told me anything... This story marked me unconsciously, like many others, including more positive ones, such as the one of my great-grandmother, Thérèse, who was one of the first women to obtain her medical degree.
Prohibited from exercising, she then founded her laboratory, gained her independence.
Your commitment informs most of your choices. Is it conscious?
The projects, I accept them or initiate them because they tell a feminine story that appeals to me.
In
Like an actress
(2),
I play a 50-year-old actress, scared at the thought of losing her husband, a director who wants to cast a younger performer for a show.
With the Twin Sisters Festival, I want to promote female talent in the music and image sectors.
Soon, I will co-direct, again with Mathieu Busson, my first television film for France 2 on Olympe de Gouges, pioneer of feminism and writer of the Declaration of the Rights of Women and Citizens.
She is one of those that history has tried to erase.
There has never been a film about her.
Read alsoJulie Gayet and Benjamin Biolay: “We go very far when we are mean, but we don’t go very high”
Do you notice an evolution in the world of cinema?
Having a referent today on questions of the fight against sexual harassment and sexist behavior has changed the situation.
I saw it on a shoot recently: the make-up artist and the boom woman alerted their referent to excesses and the culprit started shaving the walls.
Not long ago, they would have said nothing and would have lived through a nightmare, or even given up on this shoot.
It is crazy to think that some still dare today, but the more the complaints increase, the less there will be abuse.
It's all about education.
It is on this that I end the book.
I have two wonderful sons, but I saw how much they, too, had to deal with this toxic masculinity.
(1)
Together we are stronger,
by Julie Gayet, in collaboration with Mathieu Busson, Éditions Stock, 288 p., €19.
(2)
Like an actress,
by Sébastien Bailly, with Julie Gayet, Benjamin Biolay…
