French actress Corinne Masiero stripped on stage during the César Awards, France’s equivalent of the Oscars, to underscore demands that the government do more to support culture during Covid-19 pandemic.
Masiero was invited to Friday’s socially distanced ceremony to present the award for the best costumes; she appeared in a donkey costume over a blood-stained dress before stripping on stage to reveal the message ‘No culture, no future’ written across her torso. Another slogan on her back –‘Give art back, Jean’ – was a more direct appeal to French Prime Minister Jean Castex.
Cinemas have been shut in France for more than three months.
Others supported Masiero’s protest.
Said Stephane Demoustier, as he accepted a screenplay award: ‘My children can go to Zara but not the cinema… it’s incomprehensible.’
According to the BBC, hundreds of actors, theatre directors, musicians, film technicians and critics, and many others from the world of French culture protested in Paris and other cities in December against the government’s shutdown of culture venues.
[Image: Georges Biard, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26727728]