Immediately published, the list of nominees for Césars 2020 triggered a shield. Roman Polanski's latest film, J'accuse , garnered 12 nominations, despite the controversy surrounding the director, accused of rape by several women. "The climate is complicated," recognizes the president of the Césars, Alain Terzian, in an interview with the JDD . The controversy has given rise to many criticisms of the Academy itself, reputed to be opaque and not very egalitarian.
Parity has become "vital"
"Today, of the 4,680 members of the Academy, including 4,313 up to date with their subscription, we have 65% men and 35% women. It is anachronistic compared to our society. is not alone in this case, but it is not an excuse, "agrees Alain Terzian. He announced that he wanted to lead a "cultural revolution" in order to reach a parity that had become "vital". "A real 50/50. We are going to massively open the college of voters to 700 or 800 additional women," he promises.
On the latest appointments, Alain Terzian says he does not have "to have an opinion". "Voters vote online anonymously and securely […] If there are as many women as men who vote, this may change the nominations and the results," he continues.
"We could have woken up earlier, it's true"
It is not the first time that the Césars have been criticized for their lack of equality. So why did you wait to carry out a thorough reform? "We are neither deaf nor blind. We observe what is happening. The world has changed and we could have woken up earlier, it's true," replies the boss of the Caesars. He explains the inertia by the organization of the Academy, always overseen by "men, white and old". But, he nuances, "I am not going to tell [Claude] Lelouch or Costa-Gavras to leave when their life merges with the cinema".
The coming changes could, however, shake the Academy for a long time. Because Alain Terzian is not short of proposal: "Perhaps the assembly will decide to limit the number of terms, currently renewed every five years. By opening to parity, we will reconnect the thread of generations."