Three days after announcing the withdrawal of trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf from the jury of the Deauville Festival, our colleagues at Le Point reveal that actress Maïwenn has also been ousted from the organization. Information confirmed by Le Parisien.
Maïwenn was reportedly asked in early June by the former director of the festival, Bruno Barde, to be the president of the jury. A choice that was called into question as soon as Bruno Barde was ousted following a Mediapart investigation into harassment and sexual assault.
The Festival challenges the version of Maïwenn
Her replacement, Aude Hesbert, reportedly reversed this decision, choosing actor Benoît Magimel. The director of Polisse had, however, begun to compose her jury and contacted actress Anamaria Vartolomei, according to Le Point. She reportedly learned of her ouster on June 18, through her agent and a few days after Aude Hesbert’s appointment.
A version contradicted by the organization of the American Film Festival which states: “Maïwenn had been invited by Bruno Barde, hastily, informally and without consultation with the teams.” “Maïwenn was therefore not dismissed by Aude Hesbert,” adds the Festival.
Maïwenn had been criticized for her support in 2020 for the controversial director Roman Polanski, accused of raping a minor. She had declared in Paris Match that “this whole clique of feminists has only succeeded in hurting Polanski’s victim who, for forty years, has only asked for one thing: to be left alone!”
Ibrahim Maalouf also ruled out
Earlier in the week, it was the French-Lebanese trumpeter and composer Ibrahim Maalouf who was ousted from the festival. He was to be part of the jury for the 50th edition, which will take place from September 6. Aude Hesbert, announced in La Tribune Dimanche that the 44-year-old French-Lebanese musician was excluded due to a “malaise in the team” linked to the #MeToo wave. At issue, a case of sexual assault on a minor that began in 2017 and ended in 2020 on appeal with the musician’s acquittal.
In Le Parisien, Ibrahim Maalouf denounced an “injustice” and a “humiliation”. “If I accept it, I will be humiliated for life,” he added. He announced “that he would initiate civil legal action against the festival and its director for a fault that engages their responsibility.”
