Paris (AFP)

With the documentary "The Untouchable, Harvey Weinstein", theatrical Wednesday, director Ursula Macfarlane returns to the rise and fall of the Hollywood tycoon, who is now awaiting trial, giving the floor to his victims .

This film ("Untouchable" in English), which was presented at the last Sundance Festival, traces, as scrupulously as possible, the career of the one who was one of the most powerful men in Hollywood, and who is waiting today his trial for rape and sexual assault, scheduled to open on 9 September.

The victims are the backbone of the documentary. Nearly 400 people were contacted for the film, 128 of whom agreed to speak, some informally, and 29 were finally interviewed.

Among them are unknown or famous victims, who recount the abuses, threats and insatiable sexual appetite of Weinstein, acting freely and with impunity. Several actresses testify including the Canadian Erika Rosenbaum, the American Paz de la Huerta or compatriot Rosanna Arquette, one of the first to have publicly accused the producer in a New Yorker article signed Ronan Farrow.

"There was more and more assault and abuse of power by a very powerful man who could destroy a life with a snap of his fingers." It was really time, "she said. AFP before the premiere of the film at Sundance.

Based in the UK, a noted documentary maker ("One Deadly Weekend in America", "Charlie Hebdo: Three Days That Shook Paris"), Ursula Macfarlane was contacted by the producers of the film, co-produced by the BBC, just after revelations from the New York Times and the New Yorker in October 2017. She said yes without hesitation, she told AFP Sundance.

"Trump had moved to the White House, and there was this great moment, the March of Women," she recalled. "I think people felt anger coming up when they saw this guy (Harvey Weinstein) and lots of others like him, always getting away with it, never being worried."

Ursula Macfarlane did not know Harvey Weinstein personally, but that did not stop her from identifying the character. "To be honest, when I read these testimonies, it did not surprise me because obviously, I know the behavior of many other men in these spheres".

What shocked him, however, is to discover "the multiple levels of complicity in the film industry" protecting Weinstein.

The Weinstein scandal has, in turn, led to an unprecedented challenge in the Hollywood industry and elsewhere. He has also released the word of thousands of women, especially through the MeToo movement.

© 2019 AFP