The rise of the team of the film which is currently exploding the French box office, A little something extra, was particularly anticipated. By its director and main actor, Artus, as well as by the entire film team, made up in particular of actors with disabilities. The happy gang was therefore on the steps of the Cannes Film Festival to celebrate the success of the feature film, like Baby sitting or What did we do to the good Dgod? a few years earlier. However, if this great moment was fueled by smiles and applause, it highlighted a shocking situation.
If everyone were unanimous in saluting the positive image and humanity of this film team A little something extra on the steps of the Palais des Festivals, one point aroused anger, in particular that of the Minister Delegate in charge of the Elderly and People with Disabilities, Fadila Khattabi. She was outraged by the fact that Artus had to carry his actor Sofian Ribes so that he, like his co-stars, could reach the entrance to the building. She spoke in the columns of nice morning : “As soon as I arrived, I reported it to the organizers and the director of the CNC. I congratulated them [NDLR : Artus et l’équipe du film Un p’tit truc en plus] for the very successful climb of the stairs on Wednesday evening, but I told them in the same breath that there was a hiccup. It is no longer acceptable to see these kinds of images, it is an attack on the dignity of the person to have to be carried to the top. This time, I hope it was an electric shock. Next year, the steps must be accessible to people with disabilities. It is not up to them to adapt to society, it is up to society as a whole to adapt to them.”
Carrying an actor in the film in one’s arms is a complicated situation that Artus and his colleague Sofian Ribes faced and which turns out to be a metaphor for all the obstacles overcome by the film team to bring their project to fruition. In addition to the tireless journey to find financing, Artus had to fight so that his actors could wear outfits from major fashion houses like all the personalities do on the Cannes red carpet. It took the comedian to make a rant on the airwaves of France Inter and thus the mobilization of powerful people for brands to agree to lend clothes worthy of climbing the steps at the Cannes Film Festival.
A little something extra, a film that will shake up society
If the cynicism of this situation is obvious, the happiness of seeing the joyful troop ofA little thing in addition to conveying its positive values remains. A feature film whose reach goes beyond cinemas and could well shake things up for the daily lives of people with disabilities, as Artus himself announced a few days ago. Currently, the comedy also starring Alice Belaïdi and Clovis Cornillac has exceeded 3 million admissions.
