Judith Godrèche, a French actress and director, has taken a decisive step by explicitly naming filmmaker Benoît Jacquot on her Instagram account. She discusses a relationship they had when she was a minor. Godrèche had already alluded to this relationship in her series Icon of French Cinema recently broadcast on Arte, without naming the director.
In an Instagram story published on January 6, the actress denounces the “control” exerted by Jacquot when she was 14 and he was 40. This public statement follows the viewing of a 2011 documentary, where Jacquot answers questions from psychoanalyst Gérard Miller. In it, Jacquot acknowledges the relationship with Godrèche, but depicts it differently, asserting that she was 15 and seemed to be consenting.
Through her messages, Godrèche indicates that she plans to speak more on the subject, despite her fears of professional repercussions. She emphasizes her determination to speak for “our daughters, our little sisters” and mentions threats of defamation lawsuits from Jacquot, now 76 years old.
The actress also encourages her followers to widely share her message, to give visibility to her testimony. Is Godrèche’s action part of a broader movement of denunciations of sexist and sexual violence in the film industry? The court will decide…