The 2020 César Awards nominations were met with quite a bit of controversy this year, after it was shown that Roman Polanski’s film “An Officer and a Spy” led the field with 12 nominations (gulp), including Best Director and Best Film.
Much like the Oscars, for which the Césars are the French equivalent, outrage has invaded the leading up to the ceremony, with some people freaking out that the organization would give a convicted sexual abuser, like Polanski, recognition. Where was all the outrage in 2003 when Polanski won the Best Director Oscar at the Oscars and received a standing ovation?
Leading the backlash in France is actress Adèle Haenel. In a new interview with the New York Times, the star of “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” and a ”Blue is the Warmest Color,” is downright repulsed by her peers’ recognition of Polanski
“Distinguishing Polanski is spitting in the face of all victims. It means raping women isn’t that bad,” said the actress.
Oh, God.
Polanski’s “An Officer and a Spy,” an indisputably great movie, had its world premiere at last year’s Venice International Film Festival, where it won the Grand Jury Prize. However, don’t tell that to Haenel who clearly disagrees with the notion of separating the art from the artist, especially for movie in which Polanski tries to draw parallels between himself and his main character, a wrongfully accused Jewish-Franco aristocrat
“When ‘An Officer and a Spy’ was released, we heard outcries about censorship,” said Haenel. “It isn’t censorship—it’s about choosing who one wants to watch. And old rich white men, rest assured: You own all of the communication channels.”
She continued, “No, real censorship in French film is how some people suffer from invisibility. Where are the people of color in film? The directors of color? There are exceptions, like Ladj Ly [director of ‘Les Miserables’], whose film has had enormous success, or Mati Diop [director of ‘Atlantics’], but that doesn’t reflect the reality of the film world at all. They remain a minority. For now, most stories take the classic white, male, heterosexual point of view.”
The 2020 César Awards ceremony will be taking place on February 28th.
Gyllenhaal says women face systemic barriers in an industry that may not value the kinds of films they want to make. Roy Price’s response? Watch “The Bride.”