Adele Hanel’s gesture at the 2020 César Awards, #MeToo, Benoît Jacquot, the small circle of French cinema… Judith Godrecht spoke at length on the pages of “Telerama”. And supported the commitment of “Girl on the Fire”.
You should read the long interview Judith Godreche just gave to Telerama, the magazine she’s on the cover of, with Edouard Durand, former co-chair of the Independent Commission on Indecency and Sexual Violence Against Children (Civize). Because the actress evokes the struggle she has within herself, an intimate struggle that has become collective during her declarations.
Filmmaker Benoît Jacquot, #MeTooCinema, her César speech, her rape complaint against a minor against her miniseries “Icon of French Cinema” (a wonder)… Judith Godrech spoke at length, breadth and detail, yes, but this is what we Especially remembered: his full support for “Girl on Fire.” In other words: Adèle Haenel. The feminist actress who started all this momentum in France, during the 2020 César Awards.
Adele Hanel, the provocateur, as Virginie Despentes later said, “We get up and we’re off!” Enraged by Roman Polanski’s coronation during the ceremony, soul mate of filmmaker Celine Sciamma, reader of Manifesto and essayist at the most intersectional… and source of inspiration for Judith Godreche. Yes yes!
It is “Judith” herself who admits it to Telerama: “I was carried away by my earlier words. Adèle Haenel would also deserve the support of the whole room. What’s a door slam compared to a fist in the face? You need thirty women against one man…“
What Judith Godrech tells us is very interesting. She suggests, and this is a fact widely confirmed in the media, that according to some there are “good” and “bad” feminists, less attractive, heard, more “angry”. Reality proves him right: we remember, for example, this front page of the Paris match on Angel: “Feminist but not aggressive”. Hard to be more eloquent.
“When Adele Hanel stood up and walked out of Caesars Hall in 2020, she could have been caught by the crowd, but people undoubtedly justified their inaction with her anger. When people talk to me about my speech, I think it’s “right”. However, I am also very, very angry!“, protests the actress. Who does not stop there in terms of angry introspection …
“I betrayed a secret!”
And Judith Godrech continues her reflection: “It’s just that I express my anger differently… and it’s “right”. All this creates a problem for me. In this patriarchal society, we judge differently the way a woman expresses her pain: if it’s by slamming a door, it goes badly; Nice speech, it is tolerable. But it doesn’t matter!“
Of all the sisterhoods, the actress recalls the importance of speaking up in MediaPart, with Marin Turchi — and Adele Hanel’s gesture. and directly criticizes the difference in treatment that she considers unfair. To this, we must also add the four years that separate these two testimonies, which are far from insignificant. And despite everything, according to the actress, omerta continues in French cinema …
“In the community, from the beginning there was a very strong feeling (his speech, editor’s note): betrayal. I was going to betray a pact, a secret, like a family“, she notes. “It’s almost on the order of obscenity. I feel like introducing something that doesn’t come with decorum anymore. I’m a bit of a shit-maker! We say to ourselves, “Shall we invite her back for dinner? “But I want to go to this dinner?“
Approaching this environment as a “family” where silence and open secrets would reign, Judith Godrech was already able to do so in a very close investigation of “Le Monde”. She continues: “Imagine that here, moreover, it is about cinema, an elegant society where the notion of appearance is essential. It’s an environment with a lot of camaraderie, collusion, mutual interests… I’d like to imagine a reversal of forces. Unfortunately, money, power, power have so far prevented things from changing“
But there is still much hope in this long encounter with two voices. Because Judith Godresh believes in the impact of words and actions (a long time ago, she spoke during a key hearing organized by the delegations for children’s rights and women’s rights of the National Assembly), inspiring other women, in new generations.
During March 8, generations of neo-feminists in question cheered with a unified “Judith, we believe you.” A modest reaction, on Instagram where the video of the commotion was shared, from a concerned key figure: “thank you I hope to live up to such generosity”
