Weinstein scandal casts shadow over Cannes film festival
DISGRACED Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein once held court like a king at the Cannes film festival, but this year it is his absence that will loom large over the competition.
The world’s biggest film festival has moved to align itself with the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment that has reverberated around the world since Weinstein’s downfall.
The festival has condemned Weinstein’s “unpardonable behaviour” after he was accused of four sexual assaults at Cannes over the years, including the rape of Italian actress Asia Argento in his luxury suite when she was 21.
Director Thierry Fremaux admitted Cannes would never be the same again after the Weinstein scandal.
He said festival-goers would be warned about their behaviour when they arrived at the huge French Riviera event, which starts tomorrow.
A flyer saying “proper behaviour required” will be handed out, and a hotline and website will be set up for victims or witnesses of sexual harassment.
Women also dominate the jury that will award the top Palme d’Or prize this year, including French actress Lea Seydoux, who has accused Weinstein of assault.
The jury will be led by Australian actress Cate Blanchett, who helped launch the Time’s Up campaign to tackle sexual harassment in Hollywood and was one of the first to speak out against Weinstein.
There will also be a talk about the place of women in film, but no unifying dress theme, such as the black dresses worn at the Golden Globes in support of Time’s Up or white ribbons worn at the Cesars, the French “Oscars”.
However, critics claim the festival is only paying lip service to real change.
“Cannes is a two-week celebration of male brains and female beauty,” screenwriter Kate Muir, of the Women and Hollywood group which is pushing for greater diversity in the industry, said.
“Many wheeler-dealers and producers still parade with paid-for models or prostitutes on their arms, which makes female filmmakers deeply uneasy about what, precisely, is valued by the money men.”
The Weinstein affair may have rocked the film world, but the tourism industry in Cannes expects little disruption.
Bruno Draillard, who runs eight real estate agencies that rent apartments in Cannes during the festival, said the scandal had not had any impact on business.
“People come to do business, maybe they will just do it with a slightly lower profile,” he said.
During his years at the festival, Weinstein was known to wield his power as he hosted actors and actresses in his room at the exclusive Hotel du Cap, where Argento has accused him of raping her.
Was his behaviour well known at the time?
“We learnt about it from the media,” local hospitality union head Alain Lahouti said, a sentiment echoed by others spoken to in Cannes.
The director of the Cannes Film Market, the huge deal-making hub that runs parallel to the main festival, also expects little change.
“It is true that the Weinstein Company often brought quality films,” Jerome Paillard said.
But other big companies like Lionsgate had filled the gap, he said.
Christine Welter, of the Cannes hotel union, said that the film festival was, above all, about business. – AFP