France
BBC Acquires French Thriller ‘Sambre – Anatomy of a Crime,’ Based on True Story of Prolific Rapist
The BBC has acquired French crime thriller Sambre – Anatomy of a Crime, which follows the true story of one of France’s most prolific sexual predators. The six-part series looks at a string of sexual assaults in northern France in the late 1980s, along the same road by the Sambre river. As the police fail to […]
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French Prosecutors Request Rape Charges Against Director Benoît Jacquot (Reports)
French media outlets are reporting that prosecutors have requested rape charges be brought against director Benoît Jacquot in connection to assault allegations made by actresses Isild Le Besco and Julia Roy. Jacquot was taken into police custody on Monday for questioning on those allegations as well as assault charges brought by filmmaker Judith Godrèche. According […]
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Sports Journalist Goes Viral After Posting Attack on French Far-Right
A French sports journalist has gone viral after venting his anger online following the success of the far-right in Sunday’s elections. Benjamin Bernard, an on-air reporter for beIN Sport, posted on X (formerly Twitter) that there were “12 million SOBs in our country. That’s it, it had to come out.” Bernard was referring to the […]
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French Police Question Directors Benoît Jacquot, Jacques Doillon on Sexual Assault Allegations
French police have taken directors Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon into questioning on accusations of sexual assault made against them by actress and activist Judith Godrèche. Godrèche filed official complaints against Jacquot and Doillon in February, accusing both men of sexual assault in alleged incidents decades ago, when she was a teenager. She accused Jacquot […]
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President of France’s National Film Board Gets Three-Year Sentence on Sexual Assault Charges
Dominique Boutonnat, the president of France’s National Film Board, the CNC, has been found guilty on sexual assault charges and received a three-year sentence, two of which will be suspended. Boutonnat has stepped down from the CNC in the wake of Friday’s verdict and will be replaced by Olivier Henrard. Boutonnat is not expected to […]
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French TV Giant TF1 Boosts Animation Commitment
French free TV giant TF1 Group has signed a deal with national industry associations pledging to boost funding for animation films and series and to give more exposure to kids’ cartoons on air. The agreement, announced at the Annecy animation film festival on Wednesday, will see TF1 commit to earmarking 6 percent of its overall […]
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Gérard Depardieu to Stand Trial Over Sexual Assault Allegations
French actor Gérard Depardieu will stand trial in October on charges of sexual assault brought by two women who claim the Green Card and Cyrano de Bergerac star assaulted them on set of the film The Green Shutters in 2021, the Paris Public Prosecutor said on Monday. French police briefly detained Depardieu for questioning on […]
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Guillaume Canet Stars in New French Netflix Thriller ‘Ad Vitam’
French actor Guillaume Canet is starring, writing and producing the new Netflix thriller Ad Vitam. Rodolphe Lauga (It’s Complicated) is directing the action film, which has begun shooting in Paris. Netflix will release the movie worldwide next year. Canet plays Franck Lazareff who, after surviving an attempt on his life, finds his wife has been […]
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Canadian Jewish Film Festival Postponed Over Cinema Security Concerns
The Hamilton Jewish Film Festival is looking for another cinema to host its event after the Playhouse Cinema pulled its venue rental over “security and safety concerns” amid the Israel-Gaza conflict. The film festival was to have run from April 7 to 9 in Hamilton, Ontario at the Playhouse Cinema until the movie theater took […]
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French Film Board Boss to Stand Trial for Sexual Assault
Dominique Boutonnat, the president of France’s National Film Board, the CNC, will go to court this summer to be tried for the alleged sexual assault of his godson, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. The public prosecutor’s office in Nanterre, a prefecture in the western suburbs of Paris, has set a trial date for June 14. […]
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‘Suspended Time’ Review: Olivier Assayas Fails to Find Meaning in the Monotony of Pandemic Lockdown
The French director casts Vincent Macaigne as his alter ego, isolating in the early days of COVID-19 with his brother in their childhood home, together with their respective partners.
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French Cinema Admissions Rise 19 Percent in 2023, But Remain Below Pre-COVID Numbers
France closed out the cinema year on a high note, recording 181 million theater admissions for 2023, a 18.9 percent jump compared with 2022. The official box office figures, released Tuesday by state cinema body CNC, are still down double digits — 13.1 percent — from average admissions in the pre-COVID years between 2017 and […]
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