The bombshell news about the resignation of the governing board of the Cesar Academy, which distributes France’s equivalent of the Oscars, was greeted with relief within the French film world on Friday.
“What we want is more democracy, more transparency, diversity and parity…these demands are overdue,” she says.
Although the backlash has been linked to the 12 Cesar nominations earned by Roman Polanski’s “An Officer and a Spy,” it appears a conflict was already boiling over for several years with prominent members of the Cesar Academy who blamed Terzian for cultivating a system deemed closed-off, as well as lacking inclusiveness and transparency, according to several sources.
The tipping point around this week’s turmoil came during the Revelations dinner, a gala event hosted by the Cesar Academy on Jan. 13 to promote emerging talent, during which director Claire Denis and writer Virginie Despentes were shut out, even though they had been chosen as mentors by two actors. According to the event’s rules, those chosen as mentors are generally invited to attend.
Terzian sent an apology the same night, but it wasn’t enough to appease the situation. It has emerged, as well, that Terzian is also at the centre of several media investigations in France. Contacted byThe Cesar Academy was approached last year by the advocacy group 50/50 for 2020 to sign a pledge similar to the one signed by all major international film festivals, starting with Cannes in 2018. However, those discussions fell flat, according to an industry source.