Author: THE HOBBLEDEHOY

Michael Stevenson, aka Dai Bando, Johnny Foreigner, Monsieur Pas De Merde, is a blogger of French and British culture. His blogs "Pas De Merde" and "The Hobbledehoy" have been called "marvelous" by some, and "meh" by others.

Film stars protest sexual harassment at ‘French Oscars’

FRANCE 24

Throughout the Cesar Awards ceremony Friday night, presenters and winners referenced the movement that has campaigned for an end to abuses by powerful men.

And the packed concert hall stood in ovation as the presenter called on everyone to support the #MaintenantOnAgit (Now We Act) campaign launched this week, aimed at raising money to help women pursue legal complaints against abusers.

Anger over sexual violence and demands for gender equality in the cinema industry charged the atmosphere around this year’s Cesars – much like around the Oscars coming up Sunday in Hollywood.

Instead of wearing black – as actors in the U.S. and Britain have done at recent awards shows – French stars chose to wear a white ribbon to make their statement.

So did special guests like Penelope Cruz, given a special award for her career’s work.

“The entire world is talking about this, it’s not only a problem of our industry, but of all industries and of any woman who does not have the opportunity to have a microphone in front of her as I have myself,” she told reporters.

The most Cesar awards went to the AIDS drama “120 Beats Per Minute,” which took six prizes, including best film. Directed by Robin Campillo, the movie centers on the activist group ACT UP in Paris in the 1990s at the height of the AIDS crisis.

Producer Marie-Ange Luciani hailed the social change since that era, including growing acceptance of gay marriage. She also had a message for those disconcerted by the turmoil prompted by the #MeToo movement that started in Hollywood with sexual abuse accusations against producer Harvey Weinstein.

“Don’t be afraid of what will happen. This moment is not a threat. It is a promise. And history will show we are right,” she said.

France’s entertainment industry has seen divisions over the #MeToo movement, with Catherine Deneuve notably saying it had gone too far.

No one at the Cesars publicly said anything similar.

The ceremony’s president, Vanessa Paradis – singer and actress and Johnny Depp’s ex-wife – set the tone by opening the show saying: “I am wearing this white ribbon for the fight against violence against women.”

More than 100 personalities, including actress Sandrine Bonnaire, director Agnes Jaoui and actor-director Julie Gayet, asked for donations destined for associations helping women pursue cases before justice, “so that no woman ever again has to say #MeToo.”

French film stars including Juliet Binoche called in a proposal in newspaper Le Monde on Friday for quotas to guarantee that more government film subsidies go to movies directed by women.

The ceremony was dedicated to Jeanne Moreau, the smoky-voiced femme fatale of the French New Wave who died last year, known for her distinctive blend of sensuality, intellect and resolve.

Best actress winner Jeanne Balibar praised actresses for supporting each other amid discrimination, injustice and abuses. “Despite our differences and our competition, we hold on.”

In addition to a white ribbon, actorBlanche Gardin wore a pin with the picture of comedian Louis C.K., accused of sexual harassment, and earned laughter with a sarcastic plea:

“Producers no longer have the right to rape actresses . But do we still have the right to sleep with them to get roles?” she asked. “Because if we don’t, then we have to learn our lines, pass auditions, and we don’t have the time. You realize how much time that takes?”

There is an easy solution to the Paris bike scheme chaos – just buy your own 

Bike-sharing schemes in Paris have been left in a disastrous state thanks to bad management and vandalism, but there is an easy solution for keen cyclists, writes Ben McPartland. And it’s far better than Velib.

“…the ambition of Paris to become a cycling city like Copenhagen has taken a huge knock, despite the city vowing to construct more cycle lanes and shift the emphasis from four wheels to two”

Read more: There is an easy solution to the Paris bike scheme chaos – just buy your own – The Local

Seen at Cannes 2017: Barbara 

The great lady in black of the French song inspires Mathieu Amalric with a biopic sketch in the form of a declaration of love. Sublime.

As it is difficult to pin down the singular charm of Barbara’s words, melodies and voice, it is equally perilous to sum up the poisonous and heady beauty of her weird biopic. This is perhaps the most striking proof of the success of Mathieu Amalric’s daring venture. Cleverly refusing to yield to the agreed cinematographic hagiography, the actor-director composes a very modern elegy, a succession of moments, a sum of dotted lines which draw in an impressionist way the complex and mysterious silhouette of the singer.

Continue reading “Seen at Cannes 2017: Barbara “ →

Laetitia Dosch, le goût du malaise – TROISCOULEURS

A bearded realistic singer, a nude theater fighter wearing a python, an extraterrestrial man with twisted gestures, a false comic … The main actress of La Bataille de Solferino , who likes to put her audience to the test, has a reckless career as a performer. Expansive and passionate, she told us her crazy adventures

Before interviewing Laetitia Dosch, we hang out a bit on the Internet to gather some biographical elements. We could see her at the filmmaker Shanti Masud, or in the series So be they on ARTE, she played Shakespeare with Erik Ruf and danced with the Spanish performer La Ribot. On the sites of several dramatic centers, there is also talk of a show entitled Laetitia makes fart, led by a ”  talent mimic  “, a ”  real woman orchestra with irresistible humor  “, which ”  could be as small as – daughter of Hara-Kiri as Jim Carrey’s niece  . The presentation text is full of superlatives: ”  nonsensical madness  “, ”  tonic  “, ”  ” droll “, ”  smashing humor  “, ”  surrealist

” … It’s almost indigestible as the entire lexical field of humor passes. And it’s a bit suspicious, too [ . . . ]

Read more at Source: Laetitia Dosch, le goût du malaise – TROISCOULEURS