The actress, a leading figure in the liberation of speech in French cinema, regrets the silence of the sector following her accusations against Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon.
The actress Judith Godrèche, spearhead of #MeToo in France, deplored on Wednesday December 18 having never been contacted by “people of power” in the cinema since she accused the filmmakers Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon of rape .
“There is not a person from my past who has an established place in cinema society – therefore, in quotes, power – there is not a person of power who has written to me since I spoke,” regretted the 52-year-old actress before the commission of inquiry of French deputies into sexual violence in cinema.
According to Judith Godrèche, “this silence says a lot”. “He also perhaps says: ‘I’m afraid’. He says: ‘I don’t want to lose my place’. He says: ‘me too, I have to slalom (…) so as not to lose my take a pole and be pushed to the back of the procession too.
New #MeToo wave
At the start of the year, Judith Godrèche sparked an explosion by accusing director Benoît Jacquot, 25 years her senior, of rape, with whom she had a relationship when she was 14. She made similar accusations against Jacques Doillon. Investigations are ongoing and both filmmakers dispute these allegations.
Since these positions, “the only people from this past who have reached out to me are people who (…) are, as they say, anonymous, in any case who do not have the power or who do not “have nothing to lose (…), who are no longer in this environment”, said Judith Godrèche.
The actress, whose short film Me too had been screened at the last Cannes Film Festival 2024, also said that she hoped “to be able to continue living” in the cinema world but expressed her resignation. “This system crushes the resistance,” she said.
“Everyone knew”
Judith Godrèche testified Wednesday in reaction to the statements the day before by Serge Toubiana, an influential personality in French cinema, affirming before this same commission that he was unaware of her relationship with Benoît Jacquot.
Former boss of the Cinémathèque and ex-editor-in-chief of Cahiers du cinéma, Serge Toubiana said he was not aware of this “intimate” relationship, before admitting that he was “of course” informed of it, having received the time the “couple” had dinner.
In front of the deputies, Judith Godrèche accused Serge Toubiana, who was close to Benoît Jacquot, of “having lied under oath”. “He knew, everyone knew, him better than anyone,” she said.
