JULIE SEBADELHA / AFP Samuel Theis, here in Cannes in May 2023, is accused of rape.
JULIE SEBADELHA / AFP
Samuel Theis, here in Cannes in May 2023, is accused of rape.
JUSTICE – French cinema is once again in turmoil. An investigation has been opened into rape allegations against director Samuel Theis, also an actor in the award-winning film Anatomy of a fall, The AFP learned from the courts this Tuesday, January 9.
A complaint was filed at the end of July and preliminary investigations are underway, the Metz prosecutor’s office told AFP, confirming information from Telerama. A civil complaint was also filed in mid-November, he added.
According to the version reported by Teleramathe events allegedly occurred last summer, during the filming of I swear with Louise Bourgoin and Marina Foïs.
Samuel Theis talks about a “consensual relationship”
A 27-year-old technician believes he was forced to have sexual intercourse after a drink in the apartment rented by the production, when he was unable to express his consent or refusal. He reportedly left the set a few days later, in agreement with the production.
Requested by AFP, Samuel Theis, 45, (Party girl in 2013, Small nature in 2021), recognizes that it has “had consensual oral sex” with the complainant the morning after the party.
An internal investigation was launched when the technician returned to him via text message a few days later, expressing his discomfort and telling him that he had the impression of having been the victim of a “sexual violence”.
According to the director’s press release, the several-month investigation has concluded “lack of conclusive evidence”AND “no elements that could characterize bad conduct”. The director was not heard by the courts and said he learned of the complaint from the press.
Unusual containment protocol
“Samuel Theis must be able to respond to this accusation in a strictly judicial framework, without feeling forced to make his defenses public”, insists the press release, sent by his lawyer Me Marie Dosé. Report the circulation of information “as insidious as they are wrong”.
After the events, a strict and unusual confinement protocol was put in place for the director, who was physically separated from his team for the remainder of the shoot, which he directed remotely.
This system was imagined by the producers to reconcile the management of the complainant’s speech and the continuation of filming, a source close to the case explained to AFP. An insurance system has been created to cover filming interruptions in the event of sexual assault allegations, but it only kicks in after a complaint.
“Given the circumstances and the reactions of some, this protocol was the lesser evil, even if difficult to bear for the director who necessarily felt excluded from his own filming”said Samuel Theis, contacted by AFP.
See also above The HuffPost :
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2024-01-09 22:54:26
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