Christophe Ruggia (born 7 January 1965) is a French film director and screenwriter.

Biography

Christophe Ruggia is a graduate of the Free Conservatory of French Cinema (''Conservatoire libre du cinéma français''), and laureate of the

Fondation Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet The Fondation Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet pour la vocation is a foundation in France that was founded in 1960, as La Fondation de la Vocation, by Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet (then president of Publicis). He had the idea to create the Foundation for Vo ...

in 1993. In 1991, he conceived and produced a short film as part of a campaign against

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

in the West Indies entitled ''Sovè l'anmou''. After ''L'Enfance Égarée'' (1993), a short film released in theaters in the program Four Urban Legends, he directed (1997), his first feature film, which was nominated to the

César Awards The César Award is the national film award of France. It is delivered in the ' ceremony and was first awarded in 1976. The nominations are selected by the members of twelve categories of filmmaking professionals and supported by the French Min ...

. He then directed two other feature films, ''

Les Diables ''Les Diables'' (The Devils) is a 2002 French drama film from director Christophe Ruggia starring Adèle Haenel and Vincent Rottiers. Plot Joseph is a 12-year-old boy running from children's home to children's home with his autistic sister Chlo� ...

'' (2002) and (2011). He became known for his numerous activist commitments, and, according to ''

Libération ''Libération'' (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968. Initially positioned on the far-left of France's ...

'', he was several times co-president or vice-president between 2003 and June 2019 of the (SRF, "Society of Film Directors"). He was co-chair for 2014-2015.

Activism

According to ''Libération'' in 2003, "he played a preponderant role in the coordination of the struggle" of

recurring status Recurring status is a class of actors that perform on U.S. soap operas. Recurring status performers consistently act in less than three episodes out of a five-day work week, and receive a certain sum for each episode in which they appear. This is ...

entertainment workers. In 2005, shortly before the conviction of director

Jean-Claude Brisseau Jean-Claude Brisseau (; 17 July 1944 – 11 May 2019) was a French filmmaker best known for his 2002 film ''Secret Things'' ("Choses Secrètes") and his 2006 film '' The Exterminating Angels'' ("Les Anges exterminateurs"). His film ''Céline'' wa ...

for

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment involving the use of explicit or implicit sexual overtones, including the unwelcome and inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions fro ...

, he was one of the signatories of a petition in support of the latter launched by ''

Les Inrockuptibles ''Les Inrockuptibles'' () is a French cultural magazine. Started as a monthly magazine in 1986, it became weekly in 1995. Now it is a monthly again, since 2021. In the beginning, rock music was the magazine's primary focus, though every issue in ...

''. This petition denounces "the way in which certain media have reported on the trial against him". In 2015, he launched with other filmmakers "The Call of Calais", which denounces a disengagement of the French government from the problem of the Calais Jungle, where thousands of migrants lived in miserable conditions. He is the initiator of a support movement in France for the Ukrainian filmmaker

Oleg Sentsov Oleg (russian: Олег), Oleh ( uk, Олег), or Aleh ( be, Алег) is an East Slavic given name. The name is very common in Russia, Ukraine and Belаrus. It derives from the Old Norse ''Helgi'' ( Helge), meaning "holy", "sacred", or "blesse ...

, an opponent of the annexation of Crimea, who was sentenced by Russia in 2015 to twenty years in prison for "acts of terrorism" and "arms trafficking" during a trial described as "

Stalinist Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory o ...

" by

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

. When the Ukrainian filmmaker did not eat for three months, Ruggia launched in September 2018 with a collective of filmmakers a rotating

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...

that he organized in front of the Russian embassy in Paris. In the 2010s, he signed numerous forums and petitions, defending in particular undocumented workers, high school students engaged against police violence, Cédric Herrou—known for his help to migrants—and

human rights in Syria The situation for human rights in Syria is considered poor by international observers.

Sexual assault and sexual harassment investigation

On 3 November 2019, an article appeared in ''

Mediapart ''Mediapart'' is an independent French investigative online newspaper created in 2008 by Edwy Plenel, former editor-in-chief of ''Le Monde''. ''Mediapart'' is published in French, English and Spanish. ''Mediapart's'' income is solely derived ...

'' in which actress

Adèle Haenel Adèle Haenel (; born 11 February 1989) is a French actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including two César Awards from seven nominations and one Lumières Award from two nominations. Haenel began her career as a child actres ...

accused Ruggia of "touching" and "sexual harassment", when she was between twelve and fifteen years old. Ruggia refuted the accusations through his lawyers and in a

right of reply The right of reply or right of correction generally means the right to defend oneself against public criticism in the same venue where it was published. In some countries, such as Brazil, it is a legal or even constitutional right. In other countrie ...

published on ''Mediapart'' on 6 November 2019, writing: "I never had towards her, I repeat, the physical gestures and the behavior of sexual harassment of which she accuses me, but I made the mistake of playing

Pygmalion Pygmalion or Pigmalion may refer to: Mythology * Pygmalion (mythology), a sculptor who fell in love with his statue Stage * ''Pigmalion'' (opera), a 1745 opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau * ''Pygmalion'' (Rousseau), a 1762 melodrama by Jean-Jacques ...

with the misunderstandings and the obstacles that such a posture gives rise to, such as the hold on the actress he has directed and with which he dreamed of shooting again", and asking her for forgiveness, saying that his "adulation" for Haenel could have been "painful at times" for her, declaring: "At the time, I had not seen that my adulation and the hopes that I placed in her might have appeared to her, given her young age, as painful at times. If so, and if she can, I ask her to forgive me"; however, at the same time he denounced a " media pillory" against him. The Société des réalisateurs de films (SRF) launched a delisting procedure against him. Director

Mona Achache Mona Achache (born 18 March 1981) is a French-Moroccan film director, actress and screenwriter. Career Following a literary and theatrical education Mona Achache becomes an assistant director followed by screenwriting for fictional and documen ...

, Ruggia's former romantic partner, testified for the investigation of ''Mediapart'': "He had confided to me to have feelings of being in love for Adèle during the promotional tour of ''Les Diables''." Achache claims that he told her about a precise instance of physical contact with Haenel, in which Ruggia "got his hand on the belly of Adèle and then ran it up to her chest, under a T-shirt", while they were watching a film together and Adèle was lying with her head on his knees. According to the claim, Ruggia, seeing fear in Haenel's eyes, and getting scared himself, then withdrew his hand. Achache stated that she remained silent because it "seemed unfair to her to speak for Adèle Haenel", and that afterwards she left Ruggia. In an interview presented as a "counter-investigation" in ''

Marianne Marianne () has been the national personification of the French Republic since the French Revolution, as a personification of liberty, equality, fraternity and reason, as well as a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty. Marianne is displayed i ...

'', Ruggia claimed that the rupture between him and Achache took place after he found her with another man on a set and that it was he who left the apartment where they lived together. He adds to having confided to his partner, at the beginning of their relationship, his "fascination" for Haenel, but, according to him, "the rest is only pure invention". According to this "counter-investigation", Achache is still friends with Laetitia Cangioni. Cangioni had to quit the filming of ''Les Diables'' in 2001 due to "burnout" and she is presented by ''Marianne'' as being one of the four people who, during the investigation by Médiapart, claimed "to have felt something abnormal" in the relationship between Ruggia and Haenel during the shooting. A preliminary investigation was opened by the Paris prosecutor's office for counts of sexual harassment and

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...

"on a minor under 15 years by a person in authority", and has been entrusted to the

Central Directorate of the Judicial Police Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

. Following this, Haenel filed a complaint against Ruggia, who was indicted on 16 January 2020 for "sexual assault on a 15-year-old minor by a person having authority over the victim".

Filmography

* 1992: ''Sové l'anmou'', short film * 1993: ''L'Enfance égarée'', short film, later adapted into the feature film ''Les Diables'' * 1997: * 2002: ''

'' * 2011:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruggia, Christophe 1965 births Living people French film directors French male screenwriters