Amid Controversy, ‘Homecoming’ Director Catherine Corsini Addresses What She’d Do Differently Shooting Underage Sex Scenes — Cannes

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If you thought Maïwenn’s Johnny Depp movie Jeanne du Barry arrived at Cannes with a lot of baggage, Catherine Corsini’s Homecoming didn’t spare in its ruffling of French media feathers with stories about harassment of workers on the pic’s set and a masturbation scene involving minors.

Corsini and her producer Elisabeth Perez already addressed and defended themselves against several of these allegations in a published open letter in April, specifically that the masturbation scene in question between the film’s 15-year old and 17-year-old actors saw them “both dressed, and the scene filmed their faces” with “no touching or inappropriate contact between the two.” On Thursday at a press conference after last night’s world premiere, Corsini reflected on what she’d do differently when shooting future sex scenes, while many of the actors from the film also at the conference defended their cinematic maestra as well.

And as far as what the media thought when Corsini entered the room> They gave the Cannes Queer Palm-winning filmmaker rousing applause. “I would ask myself more questions,” Corsini admitted on how she’d handle actors during intimate scenes on subsequent shoots. “We should have intimacy coaches so that the actors feel comfortable.” “We did a lot of preparation for these scenes in any event,” she continued. “Today, I now realize these are important issues I might call an intimacy coach on.” “Maybe I was too proud, too pretentious, [thinking] I have 35 years of experience, I can do more than an intimacy coach,” she said. “Perhaps, I might indeed need to be careful on ensuring that the actors feel fully at ease.