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Cannes 2023: Why was this French director pulled out of the competition at the last minute?
Catherine Corsini was strongly anticipated to be part of the competition at the 76th Cannes Film Festival with "Le Retour." However, she is currently absent from the list, as the board of directors must consider allegations against her. On April 13th, Thierry Frémaux unveiled the official selection of the 76th Cannes Film Festival, which will take place from May 16th to 27th. About fifty feature-length films were announced in the competition, out of competition, special screenings, and Un Certain Regard categories, and a few more are expected to be added in the coming days. However, perhaps not Catherine Corsini's. The reason for this change is twofold. Harassment allegations have been leveled against the filmmaker and two members of the crew, as well as a possible "serious" violation of legislation protecting minors on the set. This resulted in Chaz Productions being asked to repay €680,000 in subsidies granted by the CNC (National Center for Cinema and the Moving Image) last January. "This is a very rare procedure," said Olivier Henrard, delegate general of the CNC, in response to a complicated situation. Indeed, French law strictly regulates the employment of actors under 16 on movie sets. Each film must obtain the green light from the Children's Commission of the Entertainment Committee, composed of representatives from various institutions such as the judiciary, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Culture. They study the film's scenarios to ensure that there is no nudity of children on screen or that scenes are not traumatic for actors who are too young. The commission also examines working hours, remuneration, safety conditions, and morality. "In scenarios, for example, we make sure that there is no nudity of children on screen or that scenes are not traumatic for actors who are too young," explained Agnès Toullieux, a representative of the Ministry of Culture in the Parisian commission, in an interview with Le Parisien. "In case of doubt, we can ask producers for additional guarantees or that the scenes be played by older actors." Sexual scenes are particularly scrutinized. However, "Le Retour" portrays a woman (Aïssatou Diallo Sagna, revelation of "La Fracture") in Corsica with her two daughters. The youngest daughter, played by an actress who was 15 and a half at the time of filming, discovers her sexuality through a masturbation scene with a boy, a scene absent from the script submitted to the commission, which therefore could not have studied it. While the producer, Elizabeth Perez, acknowledged their mistake by stating that the scene was not hidden but added during a rewrite at the time of filming, permission to film should still have been sought. Its absence may cost the film dearly: "Whether this was intentional or not does not change anything for us," said Olivier Henrard. "We are prohibited from awarding subsidies to works that do not comply with social legislation." The CNC could find a solution to help pay the bills, as well as the technicians and performers who worked on the film, which will still be released, whether or not it is selected at Cannes. Unless the harassment allegations against Catherine Corsini and the inappropriate behavior of two crew members towards actresses darken her future, if they are confirmed.

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