It is a controversy that the Caesars would have done well. Two and a half years after the crisis caused by the statuette of Roman Polanski, the shattering departure of Adèle Haenel and the revolt which overthrew the management to demand more parity, diversity and democracy, the Academy is again shaken. This Wednesday evening, November 23, she announced that she was removing actor Sofiane Bennacer from the list of 32 Revelations 2023, shortlisted for nominations for the Césars for best female and male hopefuls. A decision justified by “the information published by the press since November 22 concerning the indictment of the actor and the judicial control imposed on him”. And, specifies the institution, “without prejudice to the presumption of innocence and out of respect for the alleged victims”.
As Le Parisien-Aujourd’hui en France revealed on Tuesday evening, Sofiane Bennacer, who plays one of the main roles of “Amandiers”, by Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, in theaters since November 16, has been indicted in last October for rape and violence against a spouse by a judge in Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin) and placed under judicial supervision. Trained at the theater school La Filature in Mulhouse, then at the National Theater of Strasbourg (TNS), the 25-year-old actor is the subject of accusations from four ex-companions.
“I will not leave for false testimonies”
Already, during its deliberations of November 16, the Committee of revelations had stopped at length on the case of Sofiane Bennacer, when rumors of sexual assault had been mentioned. Composed of eighteen casting directors, including fourteen women, and independent of the Bureau des Césars, the governing body, the Committee had finally decided to select the actor. The list of revelations is only indicative: it aims to highlight young actors who have marked the year, but the 4,363 professionals voting for the Césars can then give their voice to artists who do not appear there. .
This Wednesday, embarrassed by the revelations of the Parisian, the Academy hesitated on the reaction to adopt. In the morning, a member of the “Amandiers” team had assured us that the actor would publish a press release during the day announcing that he was retiring from public life and from the race for the Césars. Was it a wish of the production of the film or of the French institution of the seventh art more than of the actor himself?
In any case, the actor published a denial on Instagram, specifying to express himself “without (his) lawyers, without anyone behind”. “I will not leave for false testimony”, wrote Sofiane Bennacer, who proclaims his innocence and claims to have messages proving that the ex-companion who files a complaint against him “harassed” him and did the same to other ex-girlfriends to file a complaint.
“I decide to continue to compete for the Césars”
“I may be boycotted by the cinema, continues the actor. Either way, I got humiliated to the core of my soul. This is why I decide to continue to compete for the Césars. »
Sofiane Bennacer will be able to claim the statuette, but, unlike the 31 actors and actresses who now appear on the list of Revelations, he will not participate in the shooting of a short film with director Audrey Diwan, nor in the dinner scheduled for 16 January in the presence of French film stars.
In its press release, the Académie des César also announced that it would open, “as soon as possible”, a reflection on its rules, which do not provide for the possibility of a judicial questioning of a ) participant in a film likely to be elected.