“We have to stop pretending we don’t know.” Judith Godresh’s plea for cinema reform in the Senate.

“My activism is political, because today we don’t get anything with pedagogy. With polite and well-written letters signed by important people, we get nothing,” he told the Senate. This Thursday, February 29, Judith Godrech asked the Senate Women’s Rights Delegation for movie reform. She aims to protect young actresses from sexual abuse and has extended her fight to all children who are victims of incest or abuse. “This incest family in the movie theater is just a reflection of all these families affected by this violence,” he said.

Start an investigation

Judith Godrech asked the Senate to “establish a commission of inquiry into sexual and gender-based violence in the film industry”. “There needs to be a whole system of protection (around children) and we need to stop pretending we don’t know,” he added. “I got to my theater dressing room, my cheek was bruised from a huge slap, I remember covering my skin with cream that didn’t cover anything. […]. Everyone knew,” she said to make her point, the one who filed a complaint against filmmakers Benoit Jacqueau and Jacques Doillon over facts dating back to her teenage years.

“Never leave a child alone on set”

The actress also defended the project of “imposing a neutral referent on filming with a minor” regardless of production and training. An event aimed specifically at “never leaving a child alone on the set”. He also called for stronger controls, such as during castings.

Cleaning in high places

Judith Godrech not only defended the ideas, but also pointed out some incongruous presences within the higher authorities of French cinema. Like Dominic Boutonnat, president of the National Center for Cinema and Animation (CNC). In 2022, the latter was reappointed to his position despite being involved in a case of sexual assault against his 21-year-old godson, which has not yet been tried. Charges he disputes. Let’s remind that CNC is the organization responsible for fighting against sexual violence in cinema.

Before the senators, the actress therefore asked for nothing less than Mr Boutonnat’s “out”. “Going to anti-sexual violence training in the building of an institution whose president himself is accused of sexual violence… What kind of joke is this?” he teased. He also said that he had spoken to Culture Minister Rachida Dati on the subject. “He talked to me about the presumption of innocence,” she said. I answered that this is not the question, it is a question of the symbol.