Cannes festival director regrets focusing on controversies instead of cinema

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CANNES – Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Frémaux on Monday lamented the film industry’s increased focus on political and social issues in recent years, which he said has come at the expense of genuine films.

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“In the past, people only talked about cinema. As organizers we had only one concern – the films: will people like them, will people hate them?” Frémaux said at a news conference with reporters on Monday.

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Frémaux made the comments in response to a question about a report by French newspaper Le Figaro last week that said Cannes had hired a crisis management team to deal with the potential fallout from a list that 10 film industry figures who have been accused. Sexual Exploitation.

“It’s not the controversy that really stems from the festival, it’s something we want to avoid,” Frémaux said.

However, he said it was important to show at the festival the new short film “Moi Aussie,” by French actor Judith Godreche, who has been a leading voice in the country’s #MeToo movement. The global #MeToo movement has exposed men accused of sexual harassment in fields including entertainment, politics and business.

Last week, the festival announced that a 17-minute short film featuring the testimony of nearly 1,000 victims of sexual abuse would be shown at the opening ceremony of the “Un Certain Regard” competition on Wednesday evening.

Frémaux repeatedly stressed that films are chosen for their cinematic qualities – whether it’s on Ukraine, Gaza or former US President Donald Trump.

“From the beginning, Cannes has reflected the turmoil in the world because that’s what directors do with their films,” he said.

Frémaux is also dealing with a possible strike by festival staff threatening to shut down everything at Cannes, which runs from May 14 to 25. Frémaux said Cannes was discussing matters with workers’ representatives on a daily basis.

Frémaux said there were workers at the festival he spoke to every day who were demanding better conditions. “Everyone wants to avoid a strike,” he said.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without any modifications to the text.

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