“I am very happy to be there. Finally "very happy", no, it is not the word that predominates, it is not the first feeling. We will say that I am very uh ... courageous to be there! By launching into her introductory speech on Friday evening, Florence Foresti probably did not imagine that she would not appear until the end of the 45th edition of the Cesar broadcast on Canal +.
The mistress of ceremonies knew that her eyes would be on her and that, this year, the role she was responsible for, was particularly thankless. Main concern: the controversy Roman Polanski. The director - who had given up attending the Salle Pleyel ceremony - and his film, J'accuse , had twelve nominations. An honor which outraged a part of the public and the world of the cinema deploring that a man targeted by accusations of rape could be the subject of such a plebiscite.
When the appointments were announced in late January, Florence Foresti made her position known on the subject, through a voluntary slip. "I'm accu ... er ... I accuse," she slipped, smiling.
"What do we do with Atchoum?" "
In the days preceding the ceremony, knowing he was expected at the turn, the comedian canceled all the interviews she had to give, to better focus on her mission. And rather than staying away from the Polanski subject, she set foot in the dish straight away. “We have to settle a case or we will have a problem during the ceremony. There are twelve moments when we are going to have a problem. We have to solve the problem otherwise it will spoil the evening. What do we do with Roro? What do we do with Popol? Don't do like him, don't make the innocent, you know who I'm talking about. What do we do with Atchoum? "Dared Florence Foresti. The Cesars, in forty-five editions, had not accustomed the public so much irreverence.
Florence Foresti: "There are 12 moments when we are going to have a problem this evening"
The best of # César2020> https://t.co/ipnVwouBeV pic.twitter.com/wrf2srOpvb
"I decided that Atchoum was not big enough to overshadow French cinema and the rest of the selection," even added the mistress of ceremonies before evoking, sometimes with teasing, the other main nominated feature films. By the way, she did not fail to put a layer on it by speaking of “ Thanks to God , a film on pedophilia in the Church” then of “ J'accuse , a film on pedophilia in the 1970s. "
During the evening, Florence Foresti used her setbacks to feed her sketches. On several occasions, she thus mentioned the difficulty of finding personalities ready to come and present Cesars. Many have been pale or have made false excuses. Very few were motivated by the prospect of posing in the family photo alongside Roman Polanski. Jean-Pierre Darroussin, for his part, did not take it easy. At the time of announcing the result of the César for the best adaptation, he chewed the syllables of the names of the laureates - Roman Polanski and Robert Harris for the script of J'accuse - making their surnames unintelligible.
Lead screed
But when, around quarter past midnight, Claire Denis pronounced the name of Roman Polanski as winner of the César for best achievement, a leaden scent fell on the Salle Pleyel. There was a great silence, some applause, hoots. Adèle Haenel left, followed by a few other personalities, including Céline Sciamma.
It was in this moment of hesitation that Sandrine Kiberlain, president of this 45th edition of the Césars arrived on stage to award the trophy for the Best film. The award went to Les Misérables de Ladj Ly. The feature film crew went on stage, but the shock of what just happened is still felt. "Sneeze" has, despite himself, overshadowed the rest of the selection. At least in part.
Florence Foresti, she did not reappear on stage to return the antenna. She will not speak publicly until ten minutes later in her Instagram story where she has written only one word: "Disgusted".
"Disgusted", writes Florence Foresti in her Instagram story. Mistress of ceremonies, she did not return on stage after Roman Polanski was crowned best director # Cesar2020 pic.twitter.com/IvvHW1vUPC
- Fabien Randanne (@fabrandanne) February 28, 2020Culture
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Awards, sketches and unease Polanski ... Back to the 45th edition of the Cesars
- Roman Polanski
- Caesar 2020
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