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Jodie Foster shared her views on the recent speaking out around sexual violence in France. In an interview on France Inter, the actress spoke about how women are positioning themselves today in the face of assault.
The Depardieu case, which saw the actor accused by several women of rape and sexual assault, is largely what prompted these remarks. For Foster, this awakening was inevitable to change the culture of silence that had long prevailed in Western cinema and French cinema in particular.
The rape complaint recently filed by Judith Godrèche against directors Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon was also mentioned. Foster describes a climate of change in which victims feel encouraged to demand justice, compared with her childhood when "women felt they couldn’t say no."
It is also worth noting the comments by Valérie Hurier, editorial director of Télérama, who said that the film industry, backed by the media, ignored and sometimes supported these predatory behaviors. Six years after the start of the #MeToo movement, which continues to gain momentum, she called for a change in mindset so the industry would no longer be a place of exploitation.
More than six years after the start of the #MeToo movement, French cinema is finally beginning to confront its own demons. Recent scandals and the courageous statements from victims show that there is still a long way to go to eradicate sexual violence.