Benoît Jacquot (; born 5 February 1947) is a French film director and screenwriter who has had a varied career in European cinema. In July 2024, Jacquot was charged with rape, including of a minor, and was barred from directing and having contact with minors.

Life and career

Born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, Jacquot began his career as

assistant director The role of an assistant director (AD) on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have ...

Marguerite Duras Marguerite Germaine Marie Donnadieu (, 4 April 1914 – 3 March 1996), known as Marguerite Duras (), was a French novelist, playwright, screenwriter, essayist, and experimental filmmaker. Her script for the film ''Hiroshima mon amour'' (1959) ea ...

films, including '' Nathalie Granger'', '' India Song'', and also actor in the 1973 short film ''La Sœur du cadre''. He turned to writing and directing with the 1975 film '' The Musician Killer'', which starred

Anna Karina Anna Karina (born Hanne Karin Blarke Bayer; 23 September 1940 – 14 December 2019)

. He has directed over forty films, including '' La Désenchantée'' (1990), starring Judith Godrèche, and '' A Single Girl'' (1995), starring Virginie Ledoyen. In 2003, he directed Massenet's opera ''

Werther ''Werther'' is an opera (''drame lyrique'') in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann (who used the pseudonym Henri Grémont). It is loosely based on Goethe's epistolary novel ''The S ...

'' conducted by Antonio Pappano at

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

. His film '' Farewell, My Queen'' opened the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival in February 2012. He also received the René Clair Award that year. His 2014 film ''

Three Hearts ''Three Hearts'' is the second solo album by rock musician and former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Bob Welch. Just like Welch's previous effort ''French Kiss'', ''Three Hearts'' was a commercial success. The album reached number 20 on the US char ...

'' competed for the

Golden Lion The Golden Lion () is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguished prizes. In 1970, a ...

at the 71st Venice International Film Festival.

Sexual abuse allegations and criminal charges

In January 2024, Judith Godrèche accused Jacquot of grooming her when she was 14. Following the accusations made by Godrèche, several actresses came forward with allegations against Jacquot, including Julia Roy, Vahina Giocante and

Isild Le Besco Isild Le Besco (born 22 November 1982) is a French actress and filmmaker, who is of French and Algerian descent on her mother's side, and Vietnamese and Breton on her father's. She has starred in many films, including '' Sade'' (2000), a Frenc ...

. In February 2024, Godrèche filed an official police complaint against Jacquot accusing him of "rapes with violence of a minor less than 15 years old". On 1 July 2024, he was questioned along with

Jacques Doillon Jacques Doillon (; born 15 March 1944) is a French film director and screenwriter. Some actresses to break through are Fanny Bastien, Sandrine Bonnaire, Judith Godrèche, Marianne Denicourt, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Juliette Binoche. Earl ...

over sexual abuse of Godrèche. The two directors would also be taken into custody by the Juvenile Protection Brigade. On 3 July 2024, Jacquot was charged with rape. Prior to the charge, Jacquot was also placed under formal investigation for claims of raping and sexually assaulting Roy between 1998 and 2000 and Le Besco in 2013. Le Besco filed a complaint over alleged rape during her own relationship with Jacquot that also started when she was underage, while Roy accused Jacquot of sexually assaulting her in a "context of violence and moral constraint which lasted several years." Jacquot would be preliminarily charged with raping Roy and Le Basco. On 4 July 2024, the Paris prosecutor's office confirmed that the rape charges were now made official and also announced that Jacquot was charged with the rape of a minor, Le Besco, and would also be required to serve as a special witness in another case involving alleged rape of Le Besco, in this case by a partner over a 10-month span in 2007. He would be released from prison that day but ordered to undergo psychological treatment and was barred from contacting his alleged victims and witnesses. Jacquot also cannot work either as a director or in any capacity with minors and was ordered to pay

bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Court bail may be offered to secure the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when ...

of 25,000 euros ($27,000). He also remains under judicial supervision.

Filmography

As filmmaker

As actor

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jacquot, Benoit 1947 births Living people Film directors from Paris French male screenwriters French screenwriters French-language film directors