The board overseeing the César Academy, which distributes France’s equivalent of the Oscars, has revealed that it will resign following the César Awards ceremony on February 28th, report Variety.
As a result, Alain Terzian, a French producer who presides both the César Academy and the Association for the Promotion of Cinema, is also expected to resign. Other members who will resign include Danièle Thompson, Philippe Labor, Margaret Menegov and the former Cannes president Gilles Jacob.
The shock announcement by the 21-member board of the Association for the Promotion of Cinema – the organization overseeing the César Academy – comes on the heels of industry-wide backlash following 12 César nominations for Roman Polanski’s An Officer and a Spy. The César’s were also heavily criticised for shutting out feminist personalities such as director Claire Denis and author Virginie Despentes from one of recent gala events preceding the ceremony.
The decision also comes just days after the César Academy vowed to reform its operating model and corporate leadership with the help of a mediator. In a statement, the board said it had taken this measure “to honor all those who made [French] cinema in 2019, and to gain back some serenity and ensure that the celebration of cinema remains a celebration”.
In recent weeks, the César Awards have been faced with mounting pressure within the French film industry and threats of a boycott. Many industry executives have highlighted a lack of gender parity, diversity and transparency within the César’s voting body, as well as within the academy itself.
A petition to overhaul the awards, which was unveiled on Tuesday in the newspaper Le Monde, was signed by 400 film figures, including French stars such as actors Omar Sy and Lea Seydoux, producer Said Ben Said and directors Michel Hazanavicius, Eric Toledano, Jacques Audiard, Arnaud Desplechin and Olivier Nakache.