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Both men deny the allegations, though the lawsuits are still active.
AsDeadlinesMelanie Goodfellow put it, There is no bigger disruptive force in French cinema right now than Godreche.
I was with a director for a very long time, living with him when I was 14.
He was a beloved auteur in French cinema.
So it was already my struggle.
The show didnt end up happening, so I started working as an indie actress in the States.
It took place in Paris, and told a story of an actress who goes back to France.
I understood the necessity of anchoring her in her past and in the cinema, in that industry.
And I knew I couldnt tell the story without being honest about my childhood in the industry.
I had to tell my story.
But I ended up partnering with Arte, and they were very supportive.
You had no idea who else was speaking out?Right.
So its this weird, dark hole.
This was one of the pieces of the puzzle that made me realize how repressed I was.
We all need to speak up.
In the script it said there was a love scene, but it wasnt explained with any detail.
What do you do?
He kisses you over and over and over and touches your breasts.
What do you do?
No adults are speaking up for you.
But nobody ever cared.
No matter what I said, I had this stigma, like, Im a bad person.
There was no space for me to be heard.
So I told the prosecutor, Im not good for you.
I will hurt other victims.
If you bring me on the stand against Weinstein, theyre going to bring up my childhood story.
I was a bad witness, a bad victim.
Thats awful, that they would use it against you.Right.
That people wouldnt want to see it, that some part of the show would make it unattractive.
I was constantly navigating and negotiating with my own reality, like, Oh, but its funny!
And itisalso very funny.
I do love the absurd and Im inspired by Larry David.
But when the show came out all of these women started writing to me.
Or directors hit on me, or I wanted to be like you.
Like what?An intimacy coordinator.
The young actress had a person for herself, too, an advocate.
On set, I was recreating scenes Id done as a child, but in a completely different setting.
It was almost like, Shit!
She didnt want the lead actor to approach her more than this [holds her hands apart].
I worked within her boundaries instead of imposing them on her.
Directing, to me, is that.
Its not, youre a dictator.
And the difference between the way a technician or a beginning actor is treated compared to the stars.
Its so feudal and bizarre, a reflection of society.
The lack of consideration for human beings in France…
But Ive noticed living there, there is an idea that you could start with nothing and become something.
Because its a younger country, it can give you a chance.
It can destroy you, of course.
But in France, if you bring coffee to the actors, thats your role forever.
And hes mocking it.
He admitted that outright?Oh, for sure.
Hes bragging about it.
And you see images of me and hes talking about me like Im an object.
My body started shaking.
And I was like, I cant.
And I spoke out.
It was almost like my body decided for me.
It wasnt an intellectual, step-by-step thing.
You were compelled.And that started a long journey.
In opening up letters and souvenirs from this man, I realized the child in me needed justice.
I was calling reputable lawyers but starting the conversation with, Are you a lawyer for children?
I said, I need a lawyer for the 14-year-old kid that I was.
And Id like to go to the place where you file for children, La Brigade des Mineurs.
And because Im a privileged person, and because Im famous, we were able to get access quickly.
It was always one day at a time, not knowing what tomorrow is made of.
That theres no one like you.
There are a lot of people like me.
That gave me some sort of responsibility.
I felt the need of these women and men.
And at what point did you make the Cesar speech?
Did they invite you there to speak on this?Afterwards.
They invited me to give an award, which I refused.
And they said, you’re able to come and speak.
But I refused to show them my speech.
[Laughs and sips her water.]
Were they upset afterwards?No, no.
But you knew if youd showed them, theyd have said no.Yeah, yeah.
Because its so institutionalized in France.
How do you account for your relatively positive reception throughout all of this?
And ultimatelyleft the industry entirely.I think as soon as they can, they give you a kick.
They wish I would fall, Id make a mistake.
Once you are someone who is a whistleblower about sexual violence, you better be perfect.
Theres such a thirst.
Because youre also representing something that society is extremely uncomfortable with.
Its shaking the status of the patriarchy.
Thats not something a lot of people want.
So I think its extremely complicated for people to receive you well.
A lot of people want to keep that power.
So publicly theres support, but privately it feels different?I think so.
And theres not that much support.
Theres a lot of silence, also.
But theres a lot of backlash.
Death threats against me, my daughter.
Everything, every step I take, is a target.
Thats a lot of pressure for you.
How did you end up premiering this at Cannes?
Ive never gotten the idea that the festival really cares about women.Its a lot of pressure.
Its interesting that it happened here.
But for me, politics is personal.
And cinema is politics.
A lot of activists would tell you theyre being shut down here and its hard.
Cinema has always been a way to fight.
What would the festival be without these movies made by these directors?
It feels opposed to itself.
I dont know if I can call them they.
Of course, its very general.Do they want change or not?
But I am grateful that I came here.
And I hope it wasnt chosen to do some kind of social washing.
Its just a movie about this, thats used to do this.
How do you make films that are not stealing away from people?
How do you give that space and film bodies and faces and stories without instrumentalizing them?
How do I offer gestures without people feeling like its not natural to them?
And in one day!
They came if they could.
We didnt choose who could come.
For women of color its even harder to speak out.
So its important to say: my film doesnt reflect society.
It reflects who wrote to me.
My biggest fear was: How do I film every one of them?
But people came from the countryside, from Australia.
But I was like, If you arent in this movie Ill cry!
But we had a lot of informed crew and psychologists.
People to talk to if someone was feeling anxious.
And it just came along.
Everyone was so moved to be under the same sky.
And your daughter is dancing throughout the whole film.
Shes an actress, as well as a dancer, and for me, it was like, No.
This cant happen to her and other young boys and girls in the world.
This industry needs to change, and the lack of protection for children on set needs to change.
But its very heavy for her to be my daughter right now.
She receives death threats and people saying they want to capture her, sexual emails and stuff.
They went for her immediately.
For me, it was essential that youth was represented.
Youth are the future.
And one day I want to be able to ask them, Were you abused?
And they will say, No.
