PARIS: French star actor Gerard Depardieu, on trial for sexual assault, told the Paris court Tuesday that he was not in the habit of “groping” women, and called the #MeToo movement a “reign of terror.”
“I don’t see why I would go around groping a woman,” he said in his first statement at the trial, in which he is charged with sexual assault on two women during the shooting of a film in 2021.
Depardieu said he was “not like that” in response to the accusations, adding that “there are vices that are alien to me.”
Depardieu, 76, who has acted in more than 200 films and television series, has been accused of improper behavior by around 20 women but this is the first case to come to trial.
“I deny all of it,” he told the court Tuesday.
He is the highest-profile figure to face accusations in French cinema’s response to the #MeToo movement, which he told the court Tuesday “will become a reign of terror.”
The trial relates to charges of sexual assault during the filming in 2021 of “Les Volets Verts” (“The Green Shutters“) by director Jean Becker.
Anouk Grinberg, a prominent actor who appeared in the film, has backed the two plaintiffs — a set dresser, 54, identified only as Amelie, and a 34-year-old assistant director. Both women allege sexual violence.
Giving his account of events during the shoot, Depardieu told the court that “it was a Friday, it was hot, it was humid. I weigh 150 kilos (331 pounds) and I was in a bad mood.”
He said that after a heated discussion with Amelie about choices on set, he grabbed her by the hips but only “so I wouldn’t slip.”
Amelie, testifying after Depardieu, said that Depardieu had actually behaved like a “wild animal” and “wasn’t at all the same man that you see here today.”
He was “constantly making remarks about women,” including on their attire, she said.
She reiterated her account, first reported in February last year, on how she had suffered sexual assault, harassment and sexist insults during the filming in September 2021.
She said Depardieu made “obscene remarks.”
Asked why she had not come forward immediately, Amelie said: “I didn’t want to talk about it, I felt humiliated. I was having a great run professionally and I knew that if I filed a police report, it would be the end of the film.”
Grinberg said previously that Depardieu constantly made “salacious remarks” during shooting, and told AFP that producers who hired him knew they were “hiring an abuser.”
But Depardieu challenged the accusation relating to the use of dirty language.
The trial, initially scheduled for October 2024, had been postponed due to the actor’s ill health.
His lawyer said back then that Depardieu had undergone a heart bypass operation and suffered from diabetes that was aggravated by the stress of the forthcoming trial.
Depardieu became a star in France from the 1980s with roles in “The Last Metro,” “Police” and “Cyrano de Bergerac,” before Peter Weir’s “Green Card” also made him a Hollywood celebrity.
He later acted in global productions including Kenneth Branagh’s “Hamlet,” Ang Lee’s “Life of Pi” and Netflix’s “Marseille” series.
Depardieu denies ‘groping’ women in France sex abuse trial
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Depardieu denies ‘groping’ women in France sex abuse trial
- Depardieu said he was “not like that” in response to the accusations, adding that “there are vices that are alien to me“
- “I deny all of it,” he told the court Tuesday
Saudi filmmaker Khaled Nadershah explores escapism in ‘ESC’ at Red Sea International Film Festival
DUBAI: Saudi director Khaled Nadershah’s short film “ESC” has been selected for the Red Sea International Film Festival, which takes place in Jeddah from Dec. 4-13.
The film is screening in the “New Saudi Cinema Shorts” category, a section dedicated to emerging voices in the Kingdom’s film industry.
“It means a lot to have a project with this type of unique, experimental style make it in a category like that,” the director of the 25-minute film told Arab News.
“ESC,” named after the escape key on a keyboard, follows Hulum, a young woman burdened by grief and the responsibility of caring for her family. Her only refuge lies in a virtual reality game where she transforms into Esc, a fearless and empowered version of herself.
“The movie tackles more the philosophy of escapism itself,” Nadershah, a graduate of London’s MetFilm School, explained. “We often believe that if we move somewhere new, reach a certain destination, or accomplish something specific, everything will be fine. But even then, some struggles stay with us. The only real way to overcome them is to face them.”
The film’s central theme of escapism reflects a consistent thread in Nadershah’s work. “The concept has been roaming my mind for a while now; even my first feature film, ‘Exit 5,’ speaks on the desire to escape in one way or another,” he said.
A lifelong anime fan, Nadershah found in the art form a perfect medium for “ESC.”
He said: “I’ve always been a huge fan of anime. However, I never thought I would be creating it myself. The first type of animation introduced to us in Saudi Arabia was through Spacetoon, which presented Japanese-style anime.
“Anime has so many subgenres, so you need to find one that pays true homage to your culture,” he said. “A big motif in the film (are) pink Taif roses. I chose them because they resemble cherry blossoms in Japan, so it was a nice way to link and merge the two worlds together.”
The film is not entirely animated or set in a virtual world, however.
“It’s not through virtual reality per se,” he said. “The character uses the VR device to transfer from one world to the other, so it was the perfect tool to transition from the vivid and colorful world inside her head to the dull and gray reality she faces in her daily life.”
Nadershah’s work as innovation and data intelligence manager at the Saudi Film Commission also shaped his creative process. “Being exposed to how filmmakers around the world are telling their stories in immersive and experimental ways really inspired me,” he said.
Reflecting on both the film and the broader industry, he added: “The film sector is going through a transitional period. What used to sell before doesn’t anymore; audiences have become more refined, and technology is changing everything. But I believe we’re figuring out the next step, and it’s an exciting time to be part of that evolution.”
