Catherine Corsini’s new film “Le Retour,” or “Homecoming,” opens with a moment of grief. A mother (Aïssatou Diallo Sagna) is nervously traveling with her two young daughters when she gets a phone call. Something terrible has happened and she begins to weep. Though that interaction hangs over the rest of the action, which then jumps ahead 15 years, we don’t find out exactly the circumstances of that pivotal call until well into the running time of this disjointed film. By the time we do, the impact of what has occurred is less traumatic than it is confusing, a product of thin characterization and messy storytelling.
At the same time, Corsini has tapped incredible actors for this sun-drenched saga of familial bonds in Corsica, which is best when it’s relying on their dynamics and worst when it’s going for big revelations.
The woman in those first frames is Khédidja,...
At the same time, Corsini has tapped incredible actors for this sun-drenched saga of familial bonds in Corsica, which is best when it’s relying on their dynamics and worst when it’s going for big revelations.
The woman in those first frames is Khédidja,...
- 5/18/2023
- by Esther Zuckerman
- Indiewire
Catherine Corsini, whose Cannes competition entry “Homecoming” has been at the center of a firestorm due to a sexually suggestive scene between two minors, admitted during the press conference that she will work an intimacy coach and “will be more careful to make actresses more at ease” on future films.
The scandal over the inclusion of Corsini’s film in competition was sparked after news broke of the fact that this scene between the two young actors Esther Gohourou and Harold Orsini had been added without obtaining proper government approval — which prompted the National Film Board to cut all their subsidies for the movie, and the Cannes Film Festival to hold their competition slot for several days while they investigated the matter. After the backlash, Corsini and her producer Elisabeth Perez admitted that they had made a mistake and should have sent the updated scripted to the Commission des Enfants du Spectacle,...
The scandal over the inclusion of Corsini’s film in competition was sparked after news broke of the fact that this scene between the two young actors Esther Gohourou and Harold Orsini had been added without obtaining proper government approval — which prompted the National Film Board to cut all their subsidies for the movie, and the Cannes Film Festival to hold their competition slot for several days while they investigated the matter. After the backlash, Corsini and her producer Elisabeth Perez admitted that they had made a mistake and should have sent the updated scripted to the Commission des Enfants du Spectacle,...
- 5/18/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
If you thought Maïwenn’s Johnny Depp movie Jeanne du Barry arrived at Cannes with a lot of baggage, Catherine Corsini’s Homecoming didn’t spare in its ruffling of French media feathers with stories about harassment of workers on the pic’s set and a masturbation scene involving minors.
Corsini and her producer Elisabeth Perez already addressed and defended themselves against several of these allegations in a published open letter in April, specifically that the masturbation scene in question between the film’s 15-year old and 17-year-old actors saw them “both dressed, and the scene filmed their faces” with “no touching or inappropriate contact between the two.”
On Thursday at a press conference after last night’s world premiere, Corsini reflected on what she’d do differently when shooting future sex scenes, while many of the actors from the film also at the conference defended their cinematic maestra as well.
Corsini and her producer Elisabeth Perez already addressed and defended themselves against several of these allegations in a published open letter in April, specifically that the masturbation scene in question between the film’s 15-year old and 17-year-old actors saw them “both dressed, and the scene filmed their faces” with “no touching or inappropriate contact between the two.”
On Thursday at a press conference after last night’s world premiere, Corsini reflected on what she’d do differently when shooting future sex scenes, while many of the actors from the film also at the conference defended their cinematic maestra as well.
- 5/18/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
The film has been mired in controversy surrounding the filming of its intimate scenes.
French filmmaker Catherine Corsini said she was “too proud and pretentious” to use intimacy coaches on the set of her Cannes competition title Homecoming, while speaking at the film’s press conference today (May 18).
France’s Cnc pulled funding on the film after Corsini failed to inform the organisation of an intimate scene involving two minors that was added to the script without being pre-approved in the shooting schedule. Separate allegations of harassment and inappropriate behaviour surfaced, unrelated to the intimate scene in question, leading the...
French filmmaker Catherine Corsini said she was “too proud and pretentious” to use intimacy coaches on the set of her Cannes competition title Homecoming, while speaking at the film’s press conference today (May 18).
France’s Cnc pulled funding on the film after Corsini failed to inform the organisation of an intimate scene involving two minors that was added to the script without being pre-approved in the shooting schedule. Separate allegations of harassment and inappropriate behaviour surfaced, unrelated to the intimate scene in question, leading the...
- 5/18/2023
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
The second scandal-tinged project to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in as many days, Catherine Corsini’s “Homecoming” is vastly more interesting than that other film maudit, “Jeanne du Barry,” though the pair make for worthy foils.
While Maïwenn’s stuffy historical epic drew protests on the Croisette due to the extracurricular activities of its stars, Corsini’s windswept jaunt very nearly didn’t make the trip – the title was omitted from the competition when news of irresponsible on-set practices broke just before the selection was announced. That the lack of oversight involved a minor seemed to seal the project’s fate before a subsequent investigation and the absence of any formal complaints put the title back on track.
Still, the damage was substantial. Unlike the stars of “Jeanne du Barry,” whose deeds are clear and whose supporters and critics remain galvanized on either side, the general murkiness of...
While Maïwenn’s stuffy historical epic drew protests on the Croisette due to the extracurricular activities of its stars, Corsini’s windswept jaunt very nearly didn’t make the trip – the title was omitted from the competition when news of irresponsible on-set practices broke just before the selection was announced. That the lack of oversight involved a minor seemed to seal the project’s fate before a subsequent investigation and the absence of any formal complaints put the title back on track.
Still, the damage was substantial. Unlike the stars of “Jeanne du Barry,” whose deeds are clear and whose supporters and critics remain galvanized on either side, the general murkiness of...
- 5/17/2023
- by Ben Croll
- The Wrap
The story template of “Homecoming” is a standard one: Years after an unexplained trauma, a family returns to the place they once called home, where hidden truths come to light and bitter conflicts arise over the course of one seemingly idyllic summer. Yet for all the secrets and lies that shape the narrative of Catherine Corsini’s straightforwardly told but consistently intriguing new film, its most interesting tensions often emerge from things its characters already know, even if they haven’t acknowledged them out loud. For Black single parent Khédidja (Aïssatou Diallo Sagna), arriving at the Corsican birthplace of her children after 15 years away, disinterring a buried past throws her maternal insecurities into sharp relief; for her teenage daughters Jessica (Suzy Bemba) and Farah (Esther Gohourou), what revelations the trip yields only underline their respective senses of not-belonging in their own small family.
This is complex, delicate material, simmering with...
This is complex, delicate material, simmering with...
- 5/17/2023
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
There is the good sister, with A grades, university prospects and a sense of decorum in company. And then there is the younger sister who can’t see a volume button without turning up the music, who is quick to complain or pick an argument, who spots someone else’s drug stash and thinks she could steal it and maybe make some pocket money selling deals on the beach, because what – what – could possibly go wrong with that plan?
And yet Farah (Esther Gohourou) can always make Jessica (Suzy Bemba) laugh. She can even persuade her to climb over a wall to swim in someone else’s pool because, in the end, where’s the harm? They are nothing alike, but they fit together like Legos.
Catherine Corsini’s Cannes competition entry Homecoming (Le Retour) borrows some key elements from the director’s own life. Like the girls in the film,...
And yet Farah (Esther Gohourou) can always make Jessica (Suzy Bemba) laugh. She can even persuade her to climb over a wall to swim in someone else’s pool because, in the end, where’s the harm? They are nothing alike, but they fit together like Legos.
Catherine Corsini’s Cannes competition entry Homecoming (Le Retour) borrows some key elements from the director’s own life. Like the girls in the film,...
- 5/17/2023
- by Stephanie Bunbury
- Deadline Film + TV
Despite plenty of incidental action, Corsini’s film about a woman’s painful return to Corsica leaves too many questions unanswered
Despite some warm and sympathetic performances and lovely cinematography, there is something weirdly glib in director and co-writer Catherine Corsini’s new film in which a summer of drama gives us supposedly tragic personal discoveries uneasily coexisting with some almost photo love-style holiday romance.
Khedidja (Aïssatou Diallo Sagna) is a black woman in her 40s living in Paris with her two teen daughters – promising student Jess (Suzy Bemba) and tearaway Farah (Esther Gohourou) – and working as a nanny for a wealthy white couple, Sylvia (Virginie Ledoyen) and Marc (Denis Podalydès), who have little kids. Marc also has a spoilt moody teen daughter (Lomane de Dietrich) from his first marriage. Sylvia and Marc are heading off with their family for the summer to their villa in Calvi, Corsica and they...
Despite some warm and sympathetic performances and lovely cinematography, there is something weirdly glib in director and co-writer Catherine Corsini’s new film in which a summer of drama gives us supposedly tragic personal discoveries uneasily coexisting with some almost photo love-style holiday romance.
Khedidja (Aïssatou Diallo Sagna) is a black woman in her 40s living in Paris with her two teen daughters – promising student Jess (Suzy Bemba) and tearaway Farah (Esther Gohourou) – and working as a nanny for a wealthy white couple, Sylvia (Virginie Ledoyen) and Marc (Denis Podalydès), who have little kids. Marc also has a spoilt moody teen daughter (Lomane de Dietrich) from his first marriage. Sylvia and Marc are heading off with their family for the summer to their villa in Calvi, Corsica and they...
- 5/17/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Catherine Corsini, an outspoken queer activist and co-founder of France’s feminist organization 50:50, should have been celebrating her new film’s inclusion in the competition lineup of the Cannes Film Festival. Instead, she found herself in the middle of a firestorm after “Homecoming,” her coming-of-age story, failed to get the proper government approvals for a scene of a sexual nature involving two minors.
Corsini admits that mistakes were made. But she says that she took every effort to protect her young actors from being exploited.
That scene, which was eventually cut from the movie, became the object of wild rumors, which Corsini said are false, “crazy, completely out of control.” “I’m hallucinating at things I’m reading, accusing me of having forced Esther to do a blowjob or masturbate herself,” she said.
Audiences will get to decide if “Homecoming” is sensitively wrought or exploitative as the film premieres in Cannes on Wednesday.
Corsini admits that mistakes were made. But she says that she took every effort to protect her young actors from being exploited.
That scene, which was eventually cut from the movie, became the object of wild rumors, which Corsini said are false, “crazy, completely out of control.” “I’m hallucinating at things I’m reading, accusing me of having forced Esther to do a blowjob or masturbate herself,” she said.
Audiences will get to decide if “Homecoming” is sensitively wrought or exploitative as the film premieres in Cannes on Wednesday.
- 5/16/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Paris-based Playtime has unveiled a strong Cannes film market sales slate, which includes competition titles “About Dry Grasses” and “Homecoming.”
“About Dry Grasses” is by Turkish auteur Nuri Bilge Ceylan, who won the Palme d’Or in 2014 for “Winter Sleep.” The film follows Samet, a young art teacher, who is finishing his fourth year of compulsory service in a remote village in Anatolia. After a turn of events he can hardly make sense of, he loses his hopes of escaping the grim life he seems to be stuck in, and hopes that his encounter with fellow teacher Nuray will help him overcome his angst. Deniz Celiloğlu, Merve Dizdar and Musab Ekici are among the cast.
“Homecoming,” by French director Catherine Corsini who won the 2021 Queer Palm for “The Divide,” follows Khédidja, who minds a wealthy Parisian family’s children for a summer in Corsica. She brings along her own two...
“About Dry Grasses” is by Turkish auteur Nuri Bilge Ceylan, who won the Palme d’Or in 2014 for “Winter Sleep.” The film follows Samet, a young art teacher, who is finishing his fourth year of compulsory service in a remote village in Anatolia. After a turn of events he can hardly make sense of, he loses his hopes of escaping the grim life he seems to be stuck in, and hopes that his encounter with fellow teacher Nuray will help him overcome his angst. Deniz Celiloğlu, Merve Dizdar and Musab Ekici are among the cast.
“Homecoming,” by French director Catherine Corsini who won the 2021 Queer Palm for “The Divide,” follows Khédidja, who minds a wealthy Parisian family’s children for a summer in Corsica. She brings along her own two...
- 5/2/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran and Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
‘Homecoming’ was added to the Cannes line-up earlier this week.
Homecoming (Le Retour) director Catherine Corsini, producer Chaz Productions and sales agent Playtime have defended the film’s Cannes Competition inclusion amid what they claim are false accusations of on-set unrest.
Earlier this month, French media reported Corsini had been accused of harassment of crew, other crew members were accused of inappropriate acts against two actors, and the Cnc had pulled funding due to an intimate scene involving minors that was added to the script without being pre-approved in the shooting schedule.
Corsini and her longtime producing partner Elisabeth Perez...
Homecoming (Le Retour) director Catherine Corsini, producer Chaz Productions and sales agent Playtime have defended the film’s Cannes Competition inclusion amid what they claim are false accusations of on-set unrest.
Earlier this month, French media reported Corsini had been accused of harassment of crew, other crew members were accused of inappropriate acts against two actors, and the Cnc had pulled funding due to an intimate scene involving minors that was added to the script without being pre-approved in the shooting schedule.
Corsini and her longtime producing partner Elisabeth Perez...
- 4/26/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
French director Catherine Corsini and her producer Elisabeth Perez have published an open letter denying wrongdoing on the set of upcoming Cannes Palme d’Or contender Le Retour.
There have been multiple French media reports over the past two weeks detailing allegations of a lack of safeguarding of minors as well as the mistreatment of crew members and young actors in the lead-up to and during the film’s shoot in Corsica at the end of last year.
For a time, it looked like the allegations would result in the film being denied a promised slot in the Cannes Film Festival’s main Competition, but the title was announced among 13 feature additions to Official Selection earlier this week following an investigation by the event.
“Anonymous and defamatory emails have been sent to the profession and the press, generating a rumor that was very damaging for the film. Thankfully, the biggest...
There have been multiple French media reports over the past two weeks detailing allegations of a lack of safeguarding of minors as well as the mistreatment of crew members and young actors in the lead-up to and during the film’s shoot in Corsica at the end of last year.
For a time, it looked like the allegations would result in the film being denied a promised slot in the Cannes Film Festival’s main Competition, but the title was announced among 13 feature additions to Official Selection earlier this week following an investigation by the event.
“Anonymous and defamatory emails have been sent to the profession and the press, generating a rumor that was very damaging for the film. Thankfully, the biggest...
- 4/26/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Catherine Corsini, the French director of “Le Retour,” which was added to the competition lineup for the 76th edition of Cannes on Monday, has addressed the reports in French media of alleged inappropriate incidents during production of the film.
Corsini’s competition slot was on hold for nearly 10 days after Cannes’s administration board heard that a scene of a sexual nature involving the 15-year old female protagonist of the film was added to the script and allegedly filmed without the consent of the Commission des Enfants du Spectacle, a government-backed organization. French reports also said Corsini was allegedly being accused of harassment by crew members, while other members of the crew had been allegedly been accused of inappropriate acts against two female actors.
Corsini and her producer Elisabeth Perez released a letter on April 25 arguing that the reports were “inaccurate” and included testimonies of cast members, including the young...
Corsini’s competition slot was on hold for nearly 10 days after Cannes’s administration board heard that a scene of a sexual nature involving the 15-year old female protagonist of the film was added to the script and allegedly filmed without the consent of the Commission des Enfants du Spectacle, a government-backed organization. French reports also said Corsini was allegedly being accused of harassment by crew members, while other members of the crew had been allegedly been accused of inappropriate acts against two female actors.
Corsini and her producer Elisabeth Perez released a letter on April 25 arguing that the reports were “inaccurate” and included testimonies of cast members, including the young...
- 4/25/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
French director Catherine Corsini was meant to be the seventh female director in competition at the 72nd edition of Cannes with her film “Le Retour” (The Return). But her competition slot is on hold for now after news broke about several alleged inappropriate incidents during filming.
The night before the press conference on April 13, Cannes chief Thierry Fremaux confirmed to the director that she would have a competition slot, but shortly before the start of the announcement, the festival’s administration board decided to hold off on including the title as part of the lineup.
The delay came after the board discovered that Corsini was allegedly being accused of harassment by crew members, while other members of the crew had been allegedly been accused of inappropriate acts against two female actors, according to French reports. Fremaux told Variety the “administration board wished to gather more information about the situation around...
The night before the press conference on April 13, Cannes chief Thierry Fremaux confirmed to the director that she would have a competition slot, but shortly before the start of the announcement, the festival’s administration board decided to hold off on including the title as part of the lineup.
The delay came after the board discovered that Corsini was allegedly being accused of harassment by crew members, while other members of the crew had been allegedly been accused of inappropriate acts against two female actors, according to French reports. Fremaux told Variety the “administration board wished to gather more information about the situation around...
- 4/18/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Screen’s team looks at which titles are lining up for a potential slot in either Official Selection or one of the parallel sections.
Speculation is mounting about which titles could make the line-up for the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, which runs May 16-27 this year.
The submission process for Official Selection officially closes on March 21, ahead of the traditional Paris press conference in mid-April (the date is currently to be confirmed).
As filmmakers, producers and sales agents scramble to submit final titles, Screen’s team assesses which films from around the world are lining up for...
Speculation is mounting about which titles could make the line-up for the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, which runs May 16-27 this year.
The submission process for Official Selection officially closes on March 21, ahead of the traditional Paris press conference in mid-April (the date is currently to be confirmed).
As filmmakers, producers and sales agents scramble to submit final titles, Screen’s team assesses which films from around the world are lining up for...
- 3/7/2023
- by Louise Tutt¬Jeremy Kay¬Mona Tabbara¬Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
Le retour
Formerly titled “La Loi du plus fort”, Catherine Corsini began filming on Le retour back in September of last year. Set in Corsica, Virginie Ledoyen, Denis Podalydès, Aïssatou Diallo Sagna and Esther Gohourou are among the on-screen distribution here. Corsini last premiered hospital ER room has a trauma center and empathy and connection – in La fracture in Cannes back in ’21.
Gist: Written by Corsini and Naïla Guiguet, the story centres on 40-something Kheìdidja, who works for a wealthy Parisian family who offers her to take care of the children during a summer in Corsica – the occasion for her and her daughters, Jessica and Farah, to return to this island which they left 15 years ago in tragic circumstances.…...
Formerly titled “La Loi du plus fort”, Catherine Corsini began filming on Le retour back in September of last year. Set in Corsica, Virginie Ledoyen, Denis Podalydès, Aïssatou Diallo Sagna and Esther Gohourou are among the on-screen distribution here. Corsini last premiered hospital ER room has a trauma center and empathy and connection – in La fracture in Cannes back in ’21.
Gist: Written by Corsini and Naïla Guiguet, the story centres on 40-something Kheìdidja, who works for a wealthy Parisian family who offers her to take care of the children during a summer in Corsica – the occasion for her and her daughters, Jessica and Farah, to return to this island which they left 15 years ago in tragic circumstances.…...
- 1/16/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Casting is complete and cameras are currently rolling on Catherine Corsini‘s Le retour. We recently reported that Aïssatou Diallo Sagna was the first to join the project, and now we learned that Esther Gohourou (breakout in Maïmouna Doucouré’s Cuties) and Suzy Bemba will also topline the film and they’ll be supported by Lomane de Dietrich, Cédric Appietto, Marie-Ange Géronimi, Harold Orsoni, Jean Michelangeli, Virginie Ledoyen and Denis Podalydès. Cineuropa reports that Chaz Productions’ Élisabeth Perez will produce. Corsini reteams with cinematographer Jeanne Lapoirie (who has Robin Campillo’s Vazaha to be released next year). Production will last close to two months and a Cannes premiere is entirely possible.…...
- 10/2/2022
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Back in July, we learned that Catherine Corsini was moving on to her next feature and now we’ve learned that she plucked a key member from the hospital emergency staff from her last film La fracture (The Divide) (read review) for this new production set to begin production this fall. Aïssatou Diallo Sagna will not topline Le retour, however, she’ll likely play a key supporting role (matriarch of the wealthy couple?). We can expect two more key youth roles to be announced. Sagna debuted her acting career with Corsini and had a recent supporting role in Yolande Moreau’s Même au milieu des ruines.…...
- 9/28/2022
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Venice Golden Lion winner Happening won best film and best actress prizes
Audrey Diwan’s Venice Golden Lion winner Happening won best film at the 27th edition of France’s Lumière Awards on Monday evening, while its star Anamaria Vartolomei was awarded the best actress prize.
Adapted from French writer Annie Ernaux’s 2019 semi-autobiographical work, Happening recounts a gifted literature student’s struggle to get an abortion in 1964, 11 years before abortion was legalised in France in 1975.
It marks a first lead role for Vartolomei, whose previous credits include How To Be A Good Wife and The Royal Exchange. Vartolomei is...
Audrey Diwan’s Venice Golden Lion winner Happening won best film at the 27th edition of France’s Lumière Awards on Monday evening, while its star Anamaria Vartolomei was awarded the best actress prize.
Adapted from French writer Annie Ernaux’s 2019 semi-autobiographical work, Happening recounts a gifted literature student’s struggle to get an abortion in 1964, 11 years before abortion was legalised in France in 1975.
It marks a first lead role for Vartolomei, whose previous credits include How To Be A Good Wife and The Royal Exchange. Vartolomei is...
- 1/18/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
The awards are voted on by 95 international correspondents from 36 countries.
Xavier Giannoli’s literary adaptation Lost Illusions leads the nominations of the 27th edition of France’s Lumière awards, followed by Audrey Diwan’s Venice Golden Lion winner Happening and Arthur Harari’s Onoda, 10,000 Nights In The Jungle.
The awards, which are voted on by 95 international correspondents hailing from 36 countries this year, are France’s equivalent of the Golden Globes.
Giannoli’s adaptation of Honoré de Balzac’s eponymous 19th-century novel, which premiered in competition in Venice this year, was nominated in five categories including best film, director, screenplay, actor...
Xavier Giannoli’s literary adaptation Lost Illusions leads the nominations of the 27th edition of France’s Lumière awards, followed by Audrey Diwan’s Venice Golden Lion winner Happening and Arthur Harari’s Onoda, 10,000 Nights In The Jungle.
The awards, which are voted on by 95 international correspondents hailing from 36 countries this year, are France’s equivalent of the Golden Globes.
Giannoli’s adaptation of Honoré de Balzac’s eponymous 19th-century novel, which premiered in competition in Venice this year, was nominated in five categories including best film, director, screenplay, actor...
- 12/10/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
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