Faced with mounting pressures within the French film industry and threats of a boycott, the board of the Cesar Academy (France’s equivalent to the Oscars), has vowed to reform its functioning and its corporate leadership with the help of a mediator.
Presided by French producer Alain Terzian, the Cesar Academy has been under fire since announcing the 12 nominations for Roman Polanski’s “An Officer and a Spy,” as well reportedly shutting out feminist personalities such as the helmer Claire Denis and author Virginie Despentes from one its gala events preceding the ceremony.
Many in the industry have pointed out the lack of gender parity, diversity and transparency within the Cesar’s voting body, as well as within the academy itself. A petition to overhaul the Cesar’s was signed by French stars, including Omar Sy, Lea Seydoux, Michel Hazanavicius, Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache, and is expected to be unveiled on Wednesday, according to the newspaper Le Parisien.
The academy said on Tuesday that it had requested from the National Film Board the appointment of a mediator who will be tasked to help the academy make “profound changes to the status and governance of the academy.”
According to a statement: “The Association for the Promotion of Cinema (which runs the Cesar Academy) has taken note of critics, questions and issues about the governance of the academy… We’re now calling for an appeasement in order to avoid endangering the smooth unfolding of the 45th Cesar ceremony.”
The Academy sent a long statement to journalists on Monday evening saying that one of the priorities of the Association for the Promotion of Cinema (also presided by Terzian) will be to reach gender parity within its 21-member administrative board and its 47-member general assembly. “These measures will also help building more ties between different generations,” said the Association, probably referring to the ageing of its members.
The Association also acknowledged that gender parity was needed within the voting body of the Cesar’s which is currently made up of 35% and 65%, according to the org’s own data.
The Cesar Academy was approached last year by the advocacy group 50/50 for 2020 to sign a pledge similar to the one signed by all major international film festivals, starting with Cannes in 2018, but the Academy showed little interest and discussions fell flat, according to an industry source. Back then, the country had not yet embraced the global cultural shift which has stemmed from the #metoo movement.
But since the bombshell accusation from actor Adèle Haenel against the now-indicted director Christophe Ruggia last November, followed by Valentine Monnier’s rape claim against Polanski, the tide in France has changed.
The 45th Cesar ceremony will take place Feb. 28 at the Salle Pleyel theater in Paris.
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