The Cannes Film Festival is partnering with French women’s equality minister Marlene Schiappa to set up an sexual harassment phone line for victims or witnesses to report incidents.
“We have set up a partnership with the Cannes Film Festival to tackle sexual harassment,” Schiappa told news agency AFP.
Schiappa noted that Harvey Weinstein, the one-time “King of Cannes,” had committed many of his offenses during the film festival.
“One of the rapes that Harvey Weinstein is accused of happened at Cannes, and so the festival cannot not act,” she said, referring to the accusations leveled by actress Asia Argento.
Argento said that Weinstein raped her during a hotel suite meeting when she was 21, though that incident took place at the famed Hotel du Cap in nearby Antibes.
The phone line will be in place for people to report any incidents of harassment or assault. The film festival has not yet disclosed details of the program.
The move comes after Cannes artistic director Thierry Fremaux said that the film festival would review its practices after the Weinstein stories came to light.
“We will discuss our own practices with the festival team,” he said at the press conference unveiling this year’s official selection on April 12. “The Cannes Film Festival will never be the same again.”
The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to festival officials for comment.
The Cannes Film Festival is set to run May 8-19.
