#MeToo and the sad spectacle of the Cannes Film Festival
The 76th Cannes Film Festival opened on Tuesday amid controversy over two films presented at the annual cinema event – one marking the return of Johnny Depp, the other dogged by accusations of on-set harassment and abuse – and silence over recent sexual violence allegations against actor Gérard Depardieu. In this co-authored op-ed article, Lénaïg Bredoux and Marine Turchi argue that the festival is a further illustration of how the French cinema industry obstinately continues to resist feminist struggles.
TheThe story of #MeToo began with Tarana Burke, a US activist who created a movement to support women victims of sexual violence, notably among the black population, and social issues surrounding it. Her treatise of “empowerment through empathy” would become a broader, worldwide social movement sparked after the revelations about by Harvey Weinstein, one of the most powerful American film producers.
