LISBON, May 4 — French icon Gerard Depardieu, who is awaiting a verdict in his sexual assault trial, is starring in a film directed by his friend, actor Fanny Ardant, a tale of love on a mysterious island, a producer said Friday.
Depardieu, 76, who has been accused of sexual assault or rape by around 20 women, is the highest-profile figure caught up in France’s response to the #MeToo movement.
In March, he had complained that he had been out of work for three years.
“It’s a love story about two women who find themselves on a mysterious island,” producer Ana Pinhao Moura told AFP.
She said that the shooting of the scenes involving Depardieu began in April in Sao Miguel, the largest island in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores, and was due to end next week.
The island is known for its volcanic landscape peppered with geysers.
Depardieu plays the part of “the island’s magician, a mysterious figure who connects other characters”, she added.
The producer described the film as “a 100-per cent Portuguese production”.
This month a court will deliver the verdict in Depardieu’s sexual assault trial which has gripped France.
The announcement will coincide with the first day of the Cannes Film Festival on May 13.
Prosecutors have requested an 18-month suspended jail sentence for Depardieu.
The actor’s trial relates to charges of sexual assault during the filming in 2021 of Les Volets Verts (The Green Shutters) by director Jean Becker.
During the trial, Depardieu, who has acted in more than 200 films and television series, complained that he had not worked for three years.
“It’s horrible what they’re doing to me by refusing to give me contracts!” he said in court in March.
Ardant, 76, has testified in favour of Depardieu, describing him as a “lifelong friend” and saying she had never seen him have a “shocking” gesture towards a woman.
“I am a woman myself, I have experienced things like that, I have slapped people,” she said in court. “I know that you can say no to Gerard.”
Depardieu has also been indicted in another case following a rape complaint filed by actress Charlotte Arnould, who is nearly 50 years his junior.
He has denied the allegations in both cases. — AFP
