EXCLUSIVE: When it came to the last-minute red carpet ban yesterday of Dossier 137 actor Théo Navarro-Mussy by the Cannes film festival, director Dominik Moll has no qualms.
Navarro-Mussy was accused of sexual assault by three women with the complaint dismissed by courts in April, however, Cannes Film Festival Delegate General Thierry Fremaux barred the actor from appearing at the pic’s premiere in what seems to be a cue set by the French César Academy. That org states that cinema professionals under investigation for any violent acts are not welcome at the ceremony and can’t receive any type of award, publicly or behind closed doors, until the case is ruled on.
We caught up with French-German filmmaker Moll following the pic’s press conference today and asked him whether it was fair for Cannes to implement such a ban on the thespian.
“I understand their decision because they had an engagement not to put forward people who were accused of violence and sexual violence,” Moll said.
“It had nothing to do with the film, because it was previous to it, and we didn’t know about it. But I understand their decision,” he added.
Dossier 137 stars Léa Drucker as a police officer working for Internal Affairs who is assigned to a case involving a young man severely wounded during a tense and chaotic demonstration in Paris. While she finds no evidence of illegitimate police violence, the case takes a personal turn when she discovers the victim is from her hometown.
The plaintiffs in case against Navarro-Mussy reportedly planning to lodge an appeal as civil parties. The charges against the actor relate to events in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Frémaux told the Télérama: “Because there is an appeal and therefore a continuation of the investigation, the case is not suspended. Once it’s ruled on definitively in the courts, it will be different.”
Recently Cannes has stepped up when it comes to recognizing the victims of sexual violence and assault. The fest has come under fire in the past with the rise of #MeToo for turning a blind eye to sexually inappropriate behavior by some of its guests.
Last night, Dossier 137 received an eight minute standing ovation at its competition premiere in what is return for Moll to Cannes.
