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French Film Awards Held Amid Calls for More Diversity

Lisa Bryant

   PARIS - France's annual Cesar Award film ceremony Friday is already
   clouded in controversy, with a shake-up of its board, sexual assault
   accusations against top director Roman Polanski, and now, fresh calls
   for more diversity on screen.

   After Hollywood, French cinema is having its own introspective moment.
   The latest hashtag trending this week is #BlackCesars, after some 30
   leading members of France's film industry denounced its lack of
   diversity.

   In an open letter published in a French newspaper this week, they
   claimed actors, directors and producers of ethnic African and Asian
   origin, and those from France's overseas territories, are essentially
   invisible. They mostly get insignificant roles, the group claimed, that
   would never allow them to be nominated for Cesars or other awards. Many
   of the signatories are from minority backgrounds.

   Hermann Ebongue, secretary general of anti-discrimination group SOS
   Racisme, notes calls for more diversity in the industry are not new.
   Although this year's Academy Awards faced similar criticism, he
   believes minority artists in the United States still have more
   opportunities to become stars than in France.

   The #BlackCesars petition also points to what it calls a paradox of
   American film director Spike Lee becoming the first black head of the
   Cannes Film Festival's jury in May.

   The diversity criticism here comes amid a shake-up of the Cesar's
   management. Its board resigned en masse earlier this month, after film
   industry members accused it of being undemocratic and dysfunctional.

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