Benoit Jacquot: Last News

Actress and director Judith Godrèche made an appeal at the French César Awards on Friday for a new era of truth around the issue of sexual abuse and harassment in France’s cinema world after decades of silence and denial.

French prosecutors have requested rape charges against director Benoît Jacquot in relation to allegations by actresses Isild Le Besco and Julia Roy, according to French media reports.

K.J. Yossman Film director Benoit Jacquot is set to face trial after French prosecutors requested rape charges, according to reports in France. Doillon was taken into custody in Paris alongside fellow French filmmaker Jacques Doillon earlier this week following allegations they both sexually assaulted actor Judith Godrèche as a child.

French directors Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon have been taken into police custody for questioning on accusations of sexual assault made against them by actress and director Judith Godrèche.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Trialed for alleged sexual assault on June 14, Dominique Boutonnat, the president of the National Film Board, France’s most powerful film institution, is facing a three-year suspended prison sentence. Boutonnat was indicted in February 2021 for the alleged sexual assault of his then 19-year-old godson in August 2020, during a vacation in Greece.

Judith Godrèche has been a regular on the Cannes red carpet for close to 30 years for her performances in films such as Patrice Leconte’s 1996 Palme d’Or contender Ridicule and Un Certain Regard cycling drama The Climb in 2019. 

Good afternoon Insiders, Jesse Whittock here with you today. Cannes is nearly here, and we’ve got you covered there, along with the rest of the noise from the international film and TV worlds.

Cannes Film Festival President Iris Knobloch has said the event is paying close attention to the evolving #MeToo situation in France in an interview with celebrity magazine Paris Match.

With less than a week to go until the kick-off of the 81st Cannes Film Festival, speculation is mounting in the French media and local film industry over rumors that a bombshell #MeToo exposé will drop on the day of the opening.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent A week before its kick-off, the Cannes Film Festival has made a last-minute addition with “Moi Aussi,” a short film directed by Judith Godreche. The actor-turned-filmmaker made headlines in recent months for spearheading France’s new MeToo reckoning with her revelations that she had been preyed upon and groomed as a minor by directors Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon. Both directors have denied her allegations of sexual assault.

Actress and filmmaker Judith Godrèche, who has been at the forefront of a fresh #MeToo wave in France this year, has been invited by the Cannes Film Festival to world premiere short film Moi Aussi in Official Selection.

The French parliament has approved the creation of a commission of inquiry to investigate abuse and sexual violence in the country’s cinema and audiovisual industries as well as the worlds of the performing arts, advertizing and fashion.

EXCLUSIVE: Judith Godrèche is burning down the house. Her hope is that something better will emerge from the ashes.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind docuseries “The Staircase,” has once again struck a chord with “Samber,” a limited series about a French serial rapist that explores the damages of sexual violence against women and children. “Samber,” a six-part thriller series directed by de Lestrade, charts the true case of Dino Scala, a seemingly ordinary family man who sexually assaulted and raped more than 50 women and minors over three decades in Northeastern France.

Justine Triet’s Anatomy of A Fall won Best Film and Director at the 49th edition of the French César awards on Friday.

Good afternoon Insiders, Max Goldbart here in a week that has had a distinctly ‘back to school’ feel to it. We’ve certainly been busy. Read on for the biggest stories of the week and sign up here.

EXCLUSIVE: France tv distribution has launched sales on French director Benoît Jacquot’s upcoming crime thriller Belle starring Charlotte Gainsbourg and Guillaume Canet.

Mélita Toscan du Plantier has spent the best part of two decades running Morocco’s Marrakech International Film Festival.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentEmpreinte Digitale, the thriving Paris-based production company behind Disney +’s “Parallèles,” has hired Thomas Saignes, a well-established producer whose track record includes “Bad Banks” and “Parlement.” Joining from Cinétévé, Saignes will be in charge of producing drama series and one-offs for streaming services and traditional TV channels, as well as spearheading Empreinte’s international co-productions.Saignes, who is based in Paris and lived a number of years in Montreal, Canada, has been actively involved in the financing and co-productions of films and series with international and European partners, notably Benoit Jacquot’s period movie “Farewell, my Queen.” Prior to Cinétévé, Saignes worked at the Luxembourg-based company Iris where he was involved in the ZDF-Arte series “Bad Banks” which Federation sold around the world. During his tenure at Cinétévé, Saignes collaborated with veteran producer Fabienne Servan-Schreiber and was a driving force behind several ambitious series, for instance Noé Debré’s political satire “Parlement” whose season 3 will soon launch on France Televisions; as well as the French-Italian series “Survivors,” and “Cuisine Interne,” an upcoming crime show set in the world of French gastronomy.