Thierry Frémaux
Pascal Le Segretin/Courtesy of Getty Images
At his annual pre-festival press conference, Cannes artistic director Thierry Frémaux deftly brought up hot-button topics such as the Gaza war, #MeToo politics and the threat of a jobs strike to disrupt the 77th festival. .
Frémaux graciously answered question after question from foreign film journalists on Monday, but was unable to address many of the most controversial topics on their minds.
talking about Me tooThis is the short story by filmmaker and #MeToo activist Judith Godreche that opens this year’s Un Certain Regard section, where she spends more time discussing the technical aspects of film than the subject matter. . He has shared his #MeToo story and called out the widespread abuse within the French film industry.
When asked if the festival had hired a crisis management team to deal with new #MeToo allegations against filmmakers attending this year’s festival, as reported, Frémaux said he could not comment. answered.
Nor will the Cannes Film Festival director be interested in the issue of Cannes’ freelance workers. They are threatening to go on strike unless the festival meets their demands for better unemployment protection.
The organization has long warned about the precarious nature of film festival work, which typically involves short-term freelance contracts. But unlike other so-called intermediate workers in the entertainment industry, many festival workers are not covered by France’s unemployment insurance program, meaning they are not eligible to receive unemployment benefits between jobs or projects.
“We are talking and cooperating with them and hope the negotiations will be successful.” “Everyone wants to avoid a strike.”
Frémaux complained about the nature of some journalists’ questions, saying they really only wanted to talk about the films being considered. “We’re trying to have a festival without these controversies,” he said. “Politics should be shown on screen at Cannes.”
Fremaux also questioned how much political influence the festival could have. As for Ali Abbasi, apprentice, said the rise of Donald Trump is unlikely to influence the US election. “When he gave the Palme d’Or to Michael Moore, Fahrenheit 9/11 Did it affect George Bush’s reelection? no. “
