This year’s Cesar Awards, France’s equivalent of the Oscars, saw an actress strip off on stage in protest over the closure of cinemas and theatres during the age of coronavirus.
Corinne Masiero’s rallying call for culture came as she presented the best costume award at the Paris ceremony.
The actress appeared on stage in a donkey costume, with tampons for earrings.
“Is that too trash?” Masiero asked the socially-distanced audience, before removing the donkey costume to reveal what looked like a blood-soaked dress.
The 57-year-old then announced: “I have a last one.”
The offbeat star of popular detective series Capitaine Marleau then took off the dress and exposed messages written on her body, including: “No culture, no future”, and one addressed to French prime minister Jean Castex: “Give us back art, Jean.”
The audience applauded, but some posts on social media denounced what they said was a descent into vulgarity at the 46th Cesar Awards.
The #MeToo movement was prominent at last year’s ceremony, where famed director Roman Polanski received best director award for An Officer And A Spy amid protests by women’s groups, as well as some walkouts.
Polanski, who did not attend the event, is wanted in the United States decades after being charged with raping a 13-year-old girl in 1977.
He pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor but fled the US.
In 2019, a woman accused Polanski of raping her in 1975 in his Swiss chalet when she was 18. Polanski denies the allegations.
Most of the political views expressed this year were about reviving France’s dormant cultural scene.
Part-time actors are currently occupying several theatres around France, including Paris’ famed Odeon Theatre, to demand more government help.
Culture minister Roselyne Bachelot was the subject of numerous jokes. The ceremony’s host, actor and comedian Marina Fois, noted the minister’s planned book containing recipes, “little comforting things to get through this crisis”.
“I’m losing confidence in you,” Fois said, holding a plastic bag for dog waste.
The minister’s representatives said the book, La Vie En Rose, will not be coming out, according to French media reports.
As for the awards themselves, one film, Adieu Les Cons (Bye Bye Morons), the madcap adventures of a dying hairdresser looking for the child she gave up at the age 15, scooped seven awards, including best film and best director for Albert Dupontel.
The best actor award went to Sami Bouajila for Fils (Son), while Laure Calamy was named best actress for her performance in Antoinette Dans Les Cevennes (My Donkey, My Lover, And I).
Jean-Pascal Zadi, who was named most promising actor for his role in Tout Simplement Noir (Simply Black), promoted equality in his acceptance speech.
Fourteen-year-old Fathia Youssouff, who was selected as the most promising actress for Mignonnes (Cuties), told aspiring youth to follow their dreams.
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