Jean Labadie, founder and president of Le Pacte, accused local press of a “media omerta”.
Ahead of its release in France on July 12, Catherine Corsini’s Cannes Competition title Homecoming (Le Retour) is once again the centre of a media storm, this time involving the film’s distributor Le Pacte, state film body the Cnc and local press.
The Cnc sent a rare statement to journalists on Thursday (June 28) hitting back at what they call a “misleading and defamatory” press release sent from Jean Labadie, president and founder of the film’s French distributor Le Pacte, which accused local press...
Ahead of its release in France on July 12, Catherine Corsini’s Cannes Competition title Homecoming (Le Retour) is once again the centre of a media storm, this time involving the film’s distributor Le Pacte, state film body the Cnc and local press.
The Cnc sent a rare statement to journalists on Thursday (June 28) hitting back at what they call a “misleading and defamatory” press release sent from Jean Labadie, president and founder of the film’s French distributor Le Pacte, which accused local press...
- 6/30/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
The French distributor of Catherine Corsini’s Cannes 2023 Palme d’Or contender Homecoming has lashed out at local media over its coverage of misconduct allegations linked to the film and also leveled criticism at the country’s National Cinema Centre (Cnc).
Le Pacte CEO Jean Labadie reportedly sent a press release to French media outlets on Wednesday afternoon criticizing “the media sphere” for its coverage.
Deadline requested a copy of the release but has not received a reply from the press attaché or Labadie.
“The controversy that followed has resulted in the film being invisible ahead of its release in 15 days. Despite generally positive reactions to the film from a proven and recognized filmmaker, we see that the film risks little media coverage or nothing at all,” the statement is reported to have read.
Homecoming was at the heart of a media storm prior to the Cannes Film Festival amid...
Le Pacte CEO Jean Labadie reportedly sent a press release to French media outlets on Wednesday afternoon criticizing “the media sphere” for its coverage.
Deadline requested a copy of the release but has not received a reply from the press attaché or Labadie.
“The controversy that followed has resulted in the film being invisible ahead of its release in 15 days. Despite generally positive reactions to the film from a proven and recognized filmmaker, we see that the film risks little media coverage or nothing at all,” the statement is reported to have read.
Homecoming was at the heart of a media storm prior to the Cannes Film Festival amid...
- 6/29/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Catherine Corsini’s new film “Le Retour,” or “Homecoming,” opens with a moment of grief. A mother (Aïssatou Diallo Sagna) is nervously traveling with her two young daughters when she gets a phone call. Something terrible has happened and she begins to weep. Though that interaction hangs over the rest of the action, which then jumps ahead 15 years, we don’t find out exactly the circumstances of that pivotal call until well into the running time of this disjointed film. By the time we do, the impact of what has occurred is less traumatic than it is confusing, a product of thin characterization and messy storytelling.
At the same time, Corsini has tapped incredible actors for this sun-drenched saga of familial bonds in Corsica, which is best when it’s relying on their dynamics and worst when it’s going for big revelations.
The woman in those first frames is Khédidja,...
At the same time, Corsini has tapped incredible actors for this sun-drenched saga of familial bonds in Corsica, which is best when it’s relying on their dynamics and worst when it’s going for big revelations.
The woman in those first frames is Khédidja,...
- 5/18/2023
- by Esther Zuckerman
- Indiewire
Catherine Corsini, whose Cannes competition entry “Homecoming” has been at the center of a firestorm due to a sexually suggestive scene between two minors, admitted during the press conference that she will work an intimacy coach and “will be more careful to make actresses more at ease” on future films.
The scandal over the inclusion of Corsini’s film in competition was sparked after news broke of the fact that this scene between the two young actors Esther Gohourou and Harold Orsini had been added without obtaining proper government approval — which prompted the National Film Board to cut all their subsidies for the movie, and the Cannes Film Festival to hold their competition slot for several days while they investigated the matter. After the backlash, Corsini and her producer Elisabeth Perez admitted that they had made a mistake and should have sent the updated scripted to the Commission des Enfants du Spectacle,...
The scandal over the inclusion of Corsini’s film in competition was sparked after news broke of the fact that this scene between the two young actors Esther Gohourou and Harold Orsini had been added without obtaining proper government approval — which prompted the National Film Board to cut all their subsidies for the movie, and the Cannes Film Festival to hold their competition slot for several days while they investigated the matter. After the backlash, Corsini and her producer Elisabeth Perez admitted that they had made a mistake and should have sent the updated scripted to the Commission des Enfants du Spectacle,...
- 5/18/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
If you thought Maïwenn’s Johnny Depp movie Jeanne du Barry arrived at Cannes with a lot of baggage, Catherine Corsini’s Homecoming didn’t spare in its ruffling of French media feathers with stories about harassment of workers on the pic’s set and a masturbation scene involving minors.
Corsini and her producer Elisabeth Perez already addressed and defended themselves against several of these allegations in a published open letter in April, specifically that the masturbation scene in question between the film’s 15-year old and 17-year-old actors saw them “both dressed, and the scene filmed their faces” with “no touching or inappropriate contact between the two.”
On Thursday at a press conference after last night’s world premiere, Corsini reflected on what she’d do differently when shooting future sex scenes, while many of the actors from the film also at the conference defended their cinematic maestra as well.
Corsini and her producer Elisabeth Perez already addressed and defended themselves against several of these allegations in a published open letter in April, specifically that the masturbation scene in question between the film’s 15-year old and 17-year-old actors saw them “both dressed, and the scene filmed their faces” with “no touching or inappropriate contact between the two.”
On Thursday at a press conference after last night’s world premiere, Corsini reflected on what she’d do differently when shooting future sex scenes, while many of the actors from the film also at the conference defended their cinematic maestra as well.
- 5/18/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
A French producer who said he was boycotting the Cannes Film Festival over its selection of Catherine Corsini’s Competition film Homecoming, claims his accreditation has been cancelled in retaliation.
Marc Missonnier, whose credits include François Ozon’s 8 Femmes and Swimming Pool as well as Xavier Giannoli’s Marguerite, previously criticized Cannes for including Homecoming after accusations of misconduct on set.
He wrote on Twitter tonight (translated from French): “I’ve just arrived on Croisette like every year for more than 30 years. Even if this year will be different because, as I announced, I will not be going to see any of the films in Official Selection.”
Related: Amid Controversy, ‘Homecoming’ Director Catherine Corsini Addresses What She’d Do Differently Shooting Underage Sex Scenes
Missonnier said he had travelled to Cannes to participate in the market but that when he went to collect his accreditation he was in for a surprise.
Marc Missonnier, whose credits include François Ozon’s 8 Femmes and Swimming Pool as well as Xavier Giannoli’s Marguerite, previously criticized Cannes for including Homecoming after accusations of misconduct on set.
He wrote on Twitter tonight (translated from French): “I’ve just arrived on Croisette like every year for more than 30 years. Even if this year will be different because, as I announced, I will not be going to see any of the films in Official Selection.”
Related: Amid Controversy, ‘Homecoming’ Director Catherine Corsini Addresses What She’d Do Differently Shooting Underage Sex Scenes
Missonnier said he had travelled to Cannes to participate in the market but that when he went to collect his accreditation he was in for a surprise.
- 5/17/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Catherine Corsini, an outspoken queer activist and co-founder of France’s feminist organization 50:50, should have been celebrating her new film’s inclusion in the competition lineup of the Cannes Film Festival. Instead, she found herself in the middle of a firestorm after “Homecoming,” her coming-of-age story, failed to get the proper government approvals for a scene of a sexual nature involving two minors.
Corsini admits that mistakes were made. But she says that she took every effort to protect her young actors from being exploited.
That scene, which was eventually cut from the movie, became the object of wild rumors, which Corsini said are false, “crazy, completely out of control.” “I’m hallucinating at things I’m reading, accusing me of having forced Esther to do a blowjob or masturbate herself,” she said.
Audiences will get to decide if “Homecoming” is sensitively wrought or exploitative as the film premieres in Cannes on Wednesday.
Corsini admits that mistakes were made. But she says that she took every effort to protect her young actors from being exploited.
That scene, which was eventually cut from the movie, became the object of wild rumors, which Corsini said are false, “crazy, completely out of control.” “I’m hallucinating at things I’m reading, accusing me of having forced Esther to do a blowjob or masturbate herself,” she said.
Audiences will get to decide if “Homecoming” is sensitively wrought or exploitative as the film premieres in Cannes on Wednesday.
- 5/16/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Paris-based Playtime has unveiled a strong Cannes film market sales slate, which includes competition titles “About Dry Grasses” and “Homecoming.”
“About Dry Grasses” is by Turkish auteur Nuri Bilge Ceylan, who won the Palme d’Or in 2014 for “Winter Sleep.” The film follows Samet, a young art teacher, who is finishing his fourth year of compulsory service in a remote village in Anatolia. After a turn of events he can hardly make sense of, he loses his hopes of escaping the grim life he seems to be stuck in, and hopes that his encounter with fellow teacher Nuray will help him overcome his angst. Deniz Celiloğlu, Merve Dizdar and Musab Ekici are among the cast.
“Homecoming,” by French director Catherine Corsini who won the 2021 Queer Palm for “The Divide,” follows Khédidja, who minds a wealthy Parisian family’s children for a summer in Corsica. She brings along her own two...
“About Dry Grasses” is by Turkish auteur Nuri Bilge Ceylan, who won the Palme d’Or in 2014 for “Winter Sleep.” The film follows Samet, a young art teacher, who is finishing his fourth year of compulsory service in a remote village in Anatolia. After a turn of events he can hardly make sense of, he loses his hopes of escaping the grim life he seems to be stuck in, and hopes that his encounter with fellow teacher Nuray will help him overcome his angst. Deniz Celiloğlu, Merve Dizdar and Musab Ekici are among the cast.
“Homecoming,” by French director Catherine Corsini who won the 2021 Queer Palm for “The Divide,” follows Khédidja, who minds a wealthy Parisian family’s children for a summer in Corsica. She brings along her own two...
- 5/2/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran and Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
‘Homecoming’ was added to the Cannes line-up earlier this week.
Homecoming (Le Retour) director Catherine Corsini, producer Chaz Productions and sales agent Playtime have defended the film’s Cannes Competition inclusion amid what they claim are false accusations of on-set unrest.
Earlier this month, French media reported Corsini had been accused of harassment of crew, other crew members were accused of inappropriate acts against two actors, and the Cnc had pulled funding due to an intimate scene involving minors that was added to the script without being pre-approved in the shooting schedule.
Corsini and her longtime producing partner Elisabeth Perez...
Homecoming (Le Retour) director Catherine Corsini, producer Chaz Productions and sales agent Playtime have defended the film’s Cannes Competition inclusion amid what they claim are false accusations of on-set unrest.
Earlier this month, French media reported Corsini had been accused of harassment of crew, other crew members were accused of inappropriate acts against two actors, and the Cnc had pulled funding due to an intimate scene involving minors that was added to the script without being pre-approved in the shooting schedule.
Corsini and her longtime producing partner Elisabeth Perez...
- 4/26/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
French director Catherine Corsini and her producer Elisabeth Perez have published an open letter denying wrongdoing on the set of upcoming Cannes Palme d’Or contender Le Retour.
There have been multiple French media reports over the past two weeks detailing allegations of a lack of safeguarding of minors as well as the mistreatment of crew members and young actors in the lead-up to and during the film’s shoot in Corsica at the end of last year.
For a time, it looked like the allegations would result in the film being denied a promised slot in the Cannes Film Festival’s main Competition, but the title was announced among 13 feature additions to Official Selection earlier this week following an investigation by the event.
“Anonymous and defamatory emails have been sent to the profession and the press, generating a rumor that was very damaging for the film. Thankfully, the biggest...
There have been multiple French media reports over the past two weeks detailing allegations of a lack of safeguarding of minors as well as the mistreatment of crew members and young actors in the lead-up to and during the film’s shoot in Corsica at the end of last year.
For a time, it looked like the allegations would result in the film being denied a promised slot in the Cannes Film Festival’s main Competition, but the title was announced among 13 feature additions to Official Selection earlier this week following an investigation by the event.
“Anonymous and defamatory emails have been sent to the profession and the press, generating a rumor that was very damaging for the film. Thankfully, the biggest...
- 4/26/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Catherine Corsini, the French director of “Le Retour,” which was added to the competition lineup for the 76th edition of Cannes on Monday, has addressed the reports in French media of alleged inappropriate incidents during production of the film.
Corsini’s competition slot was on hold for nearly 10 days after Cannes’s administration board heard that a scene of a sexual nature involving the 15-year old female protagonist of the film was added to the script and allegedly filmed without the consent of the Commission des Enfants du Spectacle, a government-backed organization. French reports also said Corsini was allegedly being accused of harassment by crew members, while other members of the crew had been allegedly been accused of inappropriate acts against two female actors.
Corsini and her producer Elisabeth Perez released a letter on April 25 arguing that the reports were “inaccurate” and included testimonies of cast members, including the young...
Corsini’s competition slot was on hold for nearly 10 days after Cannes’s administration board heard that a scene of a sexual nature involving the 15-year old female protagonist of the film was added to the script and allegedly filmed without the consent of the Commission des Enfants du Spectacle, a government-backed organization. French reports also said Corsini was allegedly being accused of harassment by crew members, while other members of the crew had been allegedly been accused of inappropriate acts against two female actors.
Corsini and her producer Elisabeth Perez released a letter on April 25 arguing that the reports were “inaccurate” and included testimonies of cast members, including the young...
- 4/25/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
French director Catherine Corsini was meant to be the seventh female director in competition at the 72nd edition of Cannes with her film “Le Retour” (The Return). But her competition slot is on hold for now after news broke about several alleged inappropriate incidents during filming.
The night before the press conference on April 13, Cannes chief Thierry Fremaux confirmed to the director that she would have a competition slot, but shortly before the start of the announcement, the festival’s administration board decided to hold off on including the title as part of the lineup.
The delay came after the board discovered that Corsini was allegedly being accused of harassment by crew members, while other members of the crew had been allegedly been accused of inappropriate acts against two female actors, according to French reports. Fremaux told Variety the “administration board wished to gather more information about the situation around...
The night before the press conference on April 13, Cannes chief Thierry Fremaux confirmed to the director that she would have a competition slot, but shortly before the start of the announcement, the festival’s administration board decided to hold off on including the title as part of the lineup.
The delay came after the board discovered that Corsini was allegedly being accused of harassment by crew members, while other members of the crew had been allegedly been accused of inappropriate acts against two female actors, according to French reports. Fremaux told Variety the “administration board wished to gather more information about the situation around...
- 4/18/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Grappling with free-falling theatrical admissions and misplaced blame by exhibitors on so-called “auteur” movies, the leading lights of the French film industry sounded the alarm about the state of the country’s cinema sector during a dramatic and emotional conference.
The jam-packed event on Thursday, called Appel aux Etats Generaux (Call for General Assemblies), was organized by some of France’s most established producers including Saïd Ben Saïd, Judith Lou Levy and Philippe Carcassone, who work frequently with directors Paul Verhoeven, Mati Diop and Florian Zeller, respectively.
The conference was held at the Institut du Monde Arabe, a cultural venue headed by Jack Lang, who served as minister of culture throughout the 1980s. Nearly 800 people attended the event, including members of the independent distributors guild (Dire) and the directors guild Srf, the governing body of Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight.
Filmmakers, producers, distributors, arthouse exhibitors and crew members took the stage to...
The jam-packed event on Thursday, called Appel aux Etats Generaux (Call for General Assemblies), was organized by some of France’s most established producers including Saïd Ben Saïd, Judith Lou Levy and Philippe Carcassone, who work frequently with directors Paul Verhoeven, Mati Diop and Florian Zeller, respectively.
The conference was held at the Institut du Monde Arabe, a cultural venue headed by Jack Lang, who served as minister of culture throughout the 1980s. Nearly 800 people attended the event, including members of the independent distributors guild (Dire) and the directors guild Srf, the governing body of Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight.
Filmmakers, producers, distributors, arthouse exhibitors and crew members took the stage to...
- 10/7/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Casting is complete and cameras are currently rolling on Catherine Corsini‘s Le retour. We recently reported that Aïssatou Diallo Sagna was the first to join the project, and now we learned that Esther Gohourou (breakout in Maïmouna Doucouré’s Cuties) and Suzy Bemba will also topline the film and they’ll be supported by Lomane de Dietrich, Cédric Appietto, Marie-Ange Géronimi, Harold Orsoni, Jean Michelangeli, Virginie Ledoyen and Denis Podalydès. Cineuropa reports that Chaz Productions’ Élisabeth Perez will produce. Corsini reteams with cinematographer Jeanne Lapoirie (who has Robin Campillo’s Vazaha to be released next year). Production will last close to two months and a Cannes premiere is entirely possible.…...
- 10/2/2022
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Xavier Giannoli’s sprawling period piece “Lost Illusions,” Valerie Lemercier’s Celine Dion biopic “Aline” and Leos Carax’s musical romance “Annette” with Marion Cotillard and Adam Driver are leading the race at France’s 47th Cesar Awards, France’s equivalent to the Oscars.
Other top Cesar contenders include Cedric Jimenez’s action-packed cop drama “Bac Nord,” Catherine Corsini’s social drama “La fracture,” Yann Gozlan’s thriller Boite noire,” Jacques Audiard’s contemporary love drama “Paris, 13th District” and Arthur Harari’s WW2-set “Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle.”
Audrey Diwan’s Venice Golden Lion-winning “Happening” and Julia Ducournau’s Cannes’ Palme d’Or-winning “Titane” earned four nods each.
Vying for 15 Cesar Awards, “Lost Illusions” is a big-budget adaptation of Honoré de Balzac’s masterpiece starring Benjamin Voisin (“Summer of 85”), Cecile de France (“The Young Pope”), Vincent Lacoste (“Victoria”), Xavier Dolan and Jeanne Balibar (“Les Miserables”) all of whom earned nominations.
Other top Cesar contenders include Cedric Jimenez’s action-packed cop drama “Bac Nord,” Catherine Corsini’s social drama “La fracture,” Yann Gozlan’s thriller Boite noire,” Jacques Audiard’s contemporary love drama “Paris, 13th District” and Arthur Harari’s WW2-set “Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle.”
Audrey Diwan’s Venice Golden Lion-winning “Happening” and Julia Ducournau’s Cannes’ Palme d’Or-winning “Titane” earned four nods each.
Vying for 15 Cesar Awards, “Lost Illusions” is a big-budget adaptation of Honoré de Balzac’s masterpiece starring Benjamin Voisin (“Summer of 85”), Cecile de France (“The Young Pope”), Vincent Lacoste (“Victoria”), Xavier Dolan and Jeanne Balibar (“Les Miserables”) all of whom earned nominations.
- 1/26/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
La belle saison
Director: Catherine Corsini // Writers: Catherine Corsini, Laurette Polmanss
French director Catherine Corsini isn’t very well known in the Us, though many should be familiar with her 2009 title Leaving, which headlined Kristin Scott Thomas. She’s premiered at Cannes on four occasions, last in 2012 in Un Certain Regard with Three Worlds (which happens to be one of her weaker efforts—Corsini played in the Main Comp in 2001 with La Repetition). Her latest, La belle saison (The Beautiful Summer), is set in 1971, and concerns the budding relationship between two women from very different walks of life, something which throws both their lives into turmoil (which sounds an awful lot like post-war Diane Kurys material). Corsini (who often features striking actresses in her work, including Catherine Frot, Scott Thomas, and Clotilde Hesme) snags Cecile de France as one part of this duo, not to mention the always engaging Noemie Lvovsky.
Director: Catherine Corsini // Writers: Catherine Corsini, Laurette Polmanss
French director Catherine Corsini isn’t very well known in the Us, though many should be familiar with her 2009 title Leaving, which headlined Kristin Scott Thomas. She’s premiered at Cannes on four occasions, last in 2012 in Un Certain Regard with Three Worlds (which happens to be one of her weaker efforts—Corsini played in the Main Comp in 2001 with La Repetition). Her latest, La belle saison (The Beautiful Summer), is set in 1971, and concerns the budding relationship between two women from very different walks of life, something which throws both their lives into turmoil (which sounds an awful lot like post-war Diane Kurys material). Corsini (who often features striking actresses in her work, including Catherine Frot, Scott Thomas, and Clotilde Hesme) snags Cecile de France as one part of this duo, not to mention the always engaging Noemie Lvovsky.
- 1/6/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
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