The fiftieth film – first shot in France with French actors – by Woody Allen is screened Monday September 4 at the Venice Film Festival. But more than his feature film, Stroke of luck, it is his presence that divides. At issue: accusations of sexual assault made by Dylan Farrow, whom he adopted as a child with his former wife Mia Farrow.
Unlike Roman Polanski – whose reviews of the latest comedy have been particularly negative -, who has been fleeing American justice for forty years following a conviction for illegal sexual relations with a minor, Woody Allen is not worried by the courts, and no investigation into sexual assault against him has been successful.
At 87, the director ofAnnie Hall and of Match Pointmastering humor and social satire, lives on the fringes of the 7e art and hardly tours in the United States anymore. For some, he has become one of the symbols of sexist and sexual violence.
The festival director argues the presumption of innocence
His invitation to the Mostra, where he should a priori walk the red carpet to present out of competition Stroke of luck, has everything to divide. On the one hand, those who see it as a symbol of the impunity of artists, on the other those who call to favor the presumption of innocence, or to separate the artist from his work, like the director of the festival, Alberto Barbera.
This fiftieth film is his first shot in France with French actors, Lou de Laagence, Melvil Poupaud, Niels Schneider and Valérie Lemercier. It promises to be a thriller tinged with vaudeville, around an extramarital affair in the upscale Paris and will be released in French cinemas on September 27.