VSFocused on the stories of youth from here and around the world, the Nouvelles Vagues film festival starts this Tuesday, June 18 in Biarritz and ends on Sunday, June 23. General delegate of the festival for the second year, Sandrine Brauer is the one who “orchestras”, “puts to music” the team’s ideas, and brings the intentions to life.
That this lawyer…
VSFocused on the stories of youth from here and around the world, the Nouvelles Vagues film festival starts this Tuesday, June 18 in Biarritz and ends on Sunday, June 23. General delegate of the festival for the second year, Sandrine Brauer is the one who “orchestras”, “puts to music” the team’s ideas, and brings the intentions to life.
That this trained lawyer, drawn when she was a student by the world of cinema, finds herself embarked on the adventure of this festival, chaired by the luxury and fashion professional Jérôme Pulis, that she is even approached to hold However, this role did not come naturally.
These two didn’t know each other until three years ago. The parallel worlds logically ended up crossing paths. Sandrine Brauer’s career, her successes as a producer, her protean knowledge of cinema authorities and her post-Weinstein activist commitment, within the pragmatic Collective 50/50, fit the spirit of the festival in progress. She was approached a year and a half before the first opus.
The feminist collective, of which she is co-founder, fights for equality, parity and diversity in cinema. She remembers the beginnings: an evening with friends, this question thrown out into the general public as the conversation turned to the MeToo movement: “Who has never been sexually assaulted? » Among those present, only one raises her hand then immediately becomes confused: “Well… it depends on what exactly we mean by that…” In this hesitation, everything is said.
On the pulse of mutations
The first striking action of the 50/50 Collective will be in 2018, at the Cannes Film Festival: 82 women gathered on the steps. They symbolize the total number of female directors selected to compete for the Palme d’Or since 1946, the date of the first edition.
Sandrine Brauer is one of those who will take their pilgrim’s staff to move the lines. The members of the association negotiate, in particular with the public authorities, concrete measures in response to studies which quantify the very clear under-representation of women in the sector. “The causes are multifactorial,” she said. But, in the long journey that takes a young person to be in a position to direct their first film, the hurdles are always higher for girls. »
Result: while the training workforce is balanced, they are only 27% active.
“The hurdles are always higher for girls”
The collective also carries out important work with festivals to ensure that they respect a charter of parity and diversity. In 2022, Sandrine Brauer has chaired 50/50 for two years. She is asked in this context to meet the team who are working on the concept of the future Nouvelles Vagues. A way to take the pulse of current changes, to be in tune with the times and the future. “We discuss their project informally and at the end, they ask me: and what would you like? I didn’t understand right away that it was a real proposition. Obviously, it was very attractive. »
The perfect opportunity to apply the exemplary approach advocated in terms of diversity and parity, from the selection of films to the choices of professionals, jurors and guests.
