CE2 casting of Jacques Doillon: three deputies took legal action for possible “failures”

Three deputies took legal action over possible “failures” during the casting of children in the film CE2 by Jacques Doillon, the release of which was postponed after the accusations of sexual assault made against the filmmaker by Judith Godrèche, a- we learned on Wednesday from one of the parliamentarians.

Like two of her colleagues with whom she contacted the Paris prosecutor's office, Modem MP Perrine Goulet was the recipient of filmed hearings which, according to her, "do not respect the rights of children", she declared to the 'AFP, confirming information from Le Monde. In a press release to AFP, the production company said it was “serene” and claimed to have available to the courts the “evidence” demonstrating that “the best interests of the children had been preserved.”

Also readGodrèche affair: project of a commission of inquiry for the protection of minors in cinema

According to the MP, one of the videos shows the casting director pushing a young girl who was the victim of harassment to return to this experience. “This casting director is forcing the child. (...) She squirms, it’s very difficult to watch,” said Ms. Goulet. The production evokes “an awkwardness committed by a single person in a single test video out of more than a hundred (...) produced”. According to the MP, a video also shows this casting director asking a little girl to “hit for real” a boy. “They make the children bang each other in real life, it’s not possible,” she judges. The production responds that it is not aware of such an extract which, according to it, can only correspond to the rehearsal of a scene and not to a casting audition.

After viewing these images, the deputies sent them to the Paris prosecutor at the end of last week and issued a report under article 40 of the code of criminal procedure. “We are waiting for the return of justice,” said Ms. Goulet. At the end of February, in front of senators, Judith Godrèche assured that Jacques Doillon had, for the purposes of this film, given instructions to search for a little girl victim of harassment “to make her relive on screen what she experienced in the life". The production company then rejected these accusations. The release of CE2, with Nora Hamzawi and Alexis Manenti, was scheduled for this Wednesday but was postponed after the statements of Judith Godrèche accusing Jacques Doillon of sexual assault when she was a minor. The 79-year-old filmmaker disputes these accusations, which led to the opening of an investigation by the Paris prosecutor's office.