Samuel Tacey (Anatomy of the Fall) accused of sexual assault on the set of his new movie

The facts are dated the night of June 30 and the night of July 1, 2023. At that time, Anatomy of the Fall was not yet this millionaire film at the French box office, these two Golden Globe winners that we promised the Oscars.

Justin Triet’s fourth feature film was then “this” Palme d’Or winner and Samuel Theis plays a secondary but crucial role: Sandra’s husband (Sandra Huler), whose death will spark intrigue.

While the triumph of Anatomy of the Fall is still fresh, Samuel Theis is working on his new production: I swear. Another experimental film starring Louise Burgoyne, Marina Foys, Micah Lescott and a few amateur actors, the script of which is well received.

But everything changed on the night of June 30 to July 1. During a party arranged in the apartment rented for the director, after which Samuel Theis had sexual relations with a drunken stagehand, who has since filed a rape complaint. TeleramaAnd the director denies the non-consensual side of the facts.

Then the young man asks to leave the set, claiming that he will no longer be on the same set as the director. And the production releases him from obligations, without paying all the fees and contacted a structure that specializes in investigating the rights of employees.

Although several members of the technical crew expressed their anguish at the idea of ​​continuing to work with the director, it was decided that the latter would be taken off-set from July 10 to a room from which he would give instructions on a walker. When viewing scenes shot using a video monitor.

After agreeing with the actors on the set, before going to a room where only employees who want to talk to him can enter.

“We had to try to come up with a solution that would allow this film to go forward, whatever the legal outcome of this case.”– says the actor who was interviewed release. “We were looking for the lowest common denominator that protects everyone and does not undermine either the presumption of innocence or the possibility of guilt: creating a safe space.”

“The fundamental difference between photography and any other business is temporality”A member of Avenue B Productions explains. “Anywhere else, you have the ability to take precautions. which will then be removed based on the results of an internal investigation.

“On a shoot, we rent a room for a specific setting, on a specific day, an actor is available at a specific time: you can’t stop filming or wait for an expert’s opinion before you start acting. They will arrive well after the last clap.

And yet, as an employer, you have a legal obligation to protect everyone, in an extremely short period of time, with very limited resources at your disposal and without any certainty of the defendant’s guilt.

The problem is sexual assaulters, not those who try to deal with the consequences of their actions as best they can

Described unfairly by Samuel Tacey, who still takes it so that he can finish the film despite the tense atmosphere on the set, this protocol is unprecedented. And very much in line with the theme of the script, which talks about the difficulty of enforcing justice.

“In this case, it is clear that today we can no longer say, ‘Go, there’s nothing to see.’concludes one of the producers. “We have to act together.”

“Sexual offenders are the problem, not those who try to deal with the consequences of their actions as much as possible”Confirms Caroline Bonmarchand, already a producer of Samuel Theis’s previous film (Little Nature) and a member of the 50/50 collective, whose comments were transcribed by Télérama.

By the time filming is complete, Ad Vitam’s distributor and complaint writer will have questions, especially during release.

“Already, Anatomy of the Fall was a bit difficult”admits the young driver. Posters are everywhere, friends are talking about it… Ideally, I would like the movie to come out, but without the name of Samuel Theis.