While the controversy surrounding the anti-Bolloré forum continues to agitate the Cannes Film Festival, a dissonant voice was heard on the Croisette this Wednesday, May 20. Questioned by Brut, Mathieu Kassovitz defended Canal+, at a time when several hundred film professionals are denouncing the growing influence of Vincent Bolloré in the sector.
The director of Hate and actor of The Legends Office initially dodged the subject, believing that it deserved « une bonne discussion ». But above all he refused to condemn the encrypted channel at this stage.
“As a filmmaker for the moment, I think that no filmmaker has been censored for financing their films by Canal Plusâ€he declared on the microphone of Brut. Before adding: “I think that Canal Plus is doing its job well for the moment and that we will have to shout when Canal Plus does not do its job well. But for now, they’re doing it very well.”
For several days, the world of cinema has been fractured around a column published in Libérationwho criticizes “the growing influence of the extreme right” on French cinema through Vincent Bolloré, the group’s main shareholder.
The controversy further amplified last weekend after the comments of Maxime Saada, boss of Canal+, when he affirmed that the channel could “No longer working” with the signatories of the text. Statements which provoked a new wave of support for the platform, now signed by more than 1,200 professionals in the sector.
In this climate, Mathieu Kassovitz’s exit appears to be one of the first public positions taken in favor of Canal+. The filmmaker particularly emphasizes the current situation of financing French cinema, of which Canal+ remains a central player with nearly 170 million euros invested each year.
In the meantime, on the Croisette, concerns around possible reprisals or a « liste noire » continue to fuel discussions between producers, directors and actors.
