If a film personality present at the Cannes Film Festival, which begins Tuesday, was accused of sexual assault, “we would ensure that we make the right decision on a case-by-case basis (…) but we would also discuss (his) work,” its president told Paris Match on Thursday.
“We are extremely attentive to what is happening today, we are following the situation closely,” assures Iris Knobloch in an interview with the weekly, while social networks, on which a list of leading personalities circulates, and the media are buzzing with rumors of accusations during the Festival, which will end on May 25. “If the case of an accused person arises, we will ensure that we make the right decision on a case-by-case basis, in consultation with the board of directors and stakeholders,” she continues. “But we would also discuss the work in order to see what is best for it. She’s the real star.”
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In this interview, Iris Knobloch also repeats that “the progression of the presence of women” is one of the main issues for Cannes, while 4 of the 22 films in competition and 20% of the films in the official selection were directed by women. However, she does not support the establishment of quotas, which are “double-edged”. “We must not create a feeling of illegitimacy for a woman,” she pleads. She adds that she has noted “a very clear increase in the submission of projects from female directors (…) But the Festival must remain in its role and base itself only on the quality of the film.”