French cinema director in court for sexual assault

By: Joseph Sotinel – 15 seconds ago

The director of the National Center for Cinema, Dominique Boutonnat, speaks on stage during the 24th edition of the “Festival de la fiction” in La Rochelle on September 16, 2022. Boutonnat’s trial for the alleged sexual abuse of his 21-year-old godson began on June 14, 2024 at the Nanterre courthouse. XAVIER LEOTY / AFP

NANTERRE, France – The head of France’s largest cinema institution, Dominique Boutonnat, denied sexually abusing his godson at his trial on Friday, June 14, in a case that has led to calls for his resignation.

The trial takes place while French cinemas are rocked by a new #MeToo reckoning in which several big names have participated, including acting legend Gérard Depardieu, accused of sexual abuse.

Activists have denounced Boutonnat’s continued leadership of the National Film Center (CNC), whose mission is to oversee measures to curb sexual violence in the industry.

His godson accuses him of trying to masturbate while on holiday in Greece in 2020 at the age of 19.

“I looked at him to find my godfather and I saw someone completely different… It was someone who was using me to masturbate,” the godson, whose name cannot be used for legal reasons, said in court.

The unnamed godson of CNC (Centre National du Cinema or National Center of Cinema) director Dominique Boutonnat arrives at the courthouse in Nanterre, a northern suburb of Paris, on Friday June 14, 2024, where Boutonnat is on trial for allegedly sexually assaulting his 21-year-old godson. STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP

Boutonnat responded in court that his godson initiated the situation and kissed him.

“I feel guilty when I leave an ambiguous situation behind me, but to claim that there was a sexual assault is wrong,” he explained in court.

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He was investigated in February 2021, but was reappointed head of the CNC by the government in July 2022.

For films applying for public funding through the CNC, training on abuse prevention has been mandatory for several months.

The CNC told AFP that the charges against Boutonnat came from the “private sphere” and had nothing to do with his activities.