Hearing before members of the Senate women's rights delegation, actress Judith Godrèche made several proposals to avoid sexual violence on film sets in France.
The one who has become the symbol of the #Metoo movement in French cinema, after recently accusing two filmmakers, Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon, of having sexually assaulted her when she was a teenager, has thought about the question at length.
She proposed to the senators met at the end of February a "more effective control system" which would include a "neutral referent" on filming involving minors and an "intimacy coach" for sex scenes.
In the United States and the United Kingdom, these intimacy coordinators are much more common.
There are 80 of them operating on American territory.
The profession is widely recognized and regulated.
But France only has four in operation currently.
If theater productions already called on “intimacy choreographers”, the profession of “coordinator” really emerged in the United States from 2017, when the #MeToo movement highlighted a series of cases of violence sexual relations in the Hollywood film industry.
The actors then began to demand professional guarantees for their well-being on the sets.
They pushed for better regulation of intimate scenes.
"In a 2017 TV series called 'The Deuce,' one of the actresses felt she needed more help discussing her boundaries and wished she had more support while filming intimate scenes. For the second season, the American television channel HBO therefore hired an intimacy coordinator", explains Paloma Garcia Martens, one of the rare intimacy coaches to work in France.
“Then the phenomenon spread.”
Since 2018, HBO has required their presence on all its productions containing intimate scenes.
A decision which helped to popularize the profession.
A mediator between the actors and the director
For scenes of nudity, simulation of sexual acts, violence or sexual assault, or any other form of sexual gestures, from kisses to caresses, intimacy coordinators play the role of mediators between the actors and the director .
Like stunt coordinators, they ensure that actors are safe throughout the filming process and that scenes are believable.
They act as "neutral referents", to use Judith Godrèche's terms, and find common ground in a relationship which is often marked by power struggles.
“Directors sometimes have a slightly violent way of directing actors,” explains Pedro Labaig, first assistant director in Paris.
He explains that due to the scarcity of intimacy coordinators in French film productions, it often falls to assistant directors to ensure the well-being of everyone on set.
"There were times when I had to intervene and reassure the actors that I was there, that they had the right to speak to the director and that there was no harm in telling them that they had to go about it differently,” he explains.
"But it's complicated. The director is 'the artist' and no one wants to rush him. But I can do it, to a certain extent."
Also readAt the César, Judith Godrèche denounces “illicit trafficking in young girls” covered by the cinema
Currently, it is not mandatory to have an intimacy coordinator on French film sets.
Actors and crew can contact “harassment officials” in cases of sexual assault.
But, specifies Marine Longuet, assistant director and member of the feminist collective 50/50, which fights against sexism in French cinema, this person is a member of the film crew who does this in addition to their work on the set.
Another limitation is that the “harassment managers” are responsible for the entire team, while the intimacy coordinators “have a very specific role: they take care of the relationship between the directors and the actors,” adds -she.
A listening zone between the director and the actors
When intimacy coordinators receive a script, they begin by clarifying the details of intimate scenes with the director.
“The scenarios often contain vague sentences like ‘they make love passionately’,” explains Marine Longuet.
"Intimacy coordinators ask the director what he means by that. Will the actor be naked? Will they be under a duvet? Are they kissing? Are their bodies covered in sweat? They help directors to be more precise... And ensure that the actors know exactly what they are committing to,” explains Marine Longuet.
These intimacy coaches also work with actors to set boundaries before scenes are filmed, taking care to create a safe space and open dialogue to ensure consent is given throughout filming.
“Most of the actors I've worked with have told me horrible stories about intimate scenes that went wrong for them on set,” says Paloma Garcia Martens.
"Very often they find themselves in situations where they have to improvise or they haven't had time to define their limits. They never even thought that they could set their own limits. And they find themselves in situations which, although most people are well-intentioned, cause them harm.
During filming, intimacy coordinators remain on set.
If an actor changes their mind about the detail of a scene or begins to feel uncomfortable, they can report it to the coordinator.
And if a director wants to change something that has been agreed upon beforehand, he must go through the coordinator and get approval from the actors before doing so.
“If, at any given moment, the director's idea does not correspond to the limits that an actor had set for himself, we look for solutions,” explains Paloma Garcia Martens.
“We contact the different trades [to inform them of the limits], including costumes and makeup. And we can, for example, find a way to hide certain parts of the body, or create set protocols closed by defining which essential personnel are allowed to be present or not during the filming of this intimate scene."
Soon certified training in France
In France, to date, there are no official guidelines to supervise intimacy coordinators, nor recognized training offering certification.
In the United States, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) published guidelines in 2020. And in the United Kingdom, Directors UK, an organization representing British directors, has already published a guide to the profession in 2019.
Also, people wishing to train are redirected to SAG-AFTRA to follow approved courses in English, on the recommendations of the National Joint Commission for Employment and Training (CPNEF).
This body is currently working on the creation of certified training in France for 2025.
Also read “When the cult of great artists collapses in France”: the Depardieu affair seen from abroad
The demand is pressing.
“I see more and more people who call themselves intimacy coordinators,” worries Marine Longuet.
She fears that without certified training, improvised intimacy coordinators will make the situation worse.
Paloma Garcia Martens, who is increasingly in demand in France, was trained abroad.
“I have completed several training courses in the United States and Canada, and am currently updating my certification with Principal Intimacy Professionals [founded in the United States by a collective of intimacy coaches],” she specifies.
French directors fear losing their freedom
Marine Longuet explains the lack of intimacy coordinators in French cinema for two reasons.
Directors are afraid of losing their freedom and France sees its cinema as a sacred art rather than an industry.
“Directors often imagine intimacy coordinators as a kind of moral police,” with the feeling of having their film “stolen,” she believes.
But for this assistant director, this is simply a misconception of the role.
“When we see the intimacy coordinators in action, it is clear that they are not directing the scenes, but planning them.”
Also read: Roman Polanski tried in Paris for defamation: where are the accusations against the filmmaker?
The other reason for the French blockage on the issue of intimacy coaches is cultural, according to Marine Longuet.
In the United States, cinema has always been considered an industry, which more easily obeys protocols.
"In France, we have a different model. Since the New Wave, we have favored auteur cinema. The author is the director, and the director always has the 'final cut'", she summarizes.
Finally, across the Atlantic and in the United Kingdom, actors' unions are very powerful.
In France, "actors don't have a lot of power and, very often, their agents don't even support them because they only think about the next check," she laments.
However, warns Marine Longuet, things are changing.
On set, she feels a new sisterhood, "even if everything seems to explode around us, I see the change. I see kindness and good will around me. We should rejoice in that."
This article has been adapted from English. Find the original version here.
The France 24 summary of the week
invites you to look back at the news that marked the week
I subscribe
Take international news everywhere with you!
Download the France 24 application