The film for which Gérard Depardieu was convicted already predicted the actor's downfall.

Actor Gérard Depardieu, convicted of sexual assault during the filming of a movie , has received an eighteen-month suspended prison sentence. The verdict includes his registration on the sex offenders' register and the suspension of his civil rights for two years, a court ruling that has shaken French cinema and could mark a turning point in the industry.

The actor was found guilty of sexually assaulting two women on a film set in 2022. Both worked on the production as a set designer and assistant director, and reported the incident in 2024.

Their testimony detailed non-consensual groping and obscene comments from the actor. During the trial, held without Depardieu's presence, as he was working inPortugal , his defense tried unsuccessfully to postpone the proceedings. The case has rekindled the controversy surrounding the actor's behavior, which has been accused by numerous women over the years.

The Paris Prosecutor's Office is keeping open a rape case brought by actress Charlotte Arnould , while other testimonies have been left unchallenged due to the statute of limitations. Despite the public defense of figures such as Emmanuel Macron and Brigitte Bardot , the current ruling has been interpreted as the end of impunity on French film sets.

What movie was he shooting?

The film, during the shooting of which the abuses for which he is accused occurred, is Les volets verts , a production directed by Jean Becker in which Depardieu starred alongside Fanny Ardant and Benoît Poelvoorde. Although the film was never released in Spain nor is it available on any national streaming platform, its title has already become associated with one of the biggest scandals in recent European cinema, sealing the decline of an icon of the seventh art.

The film's plot describes the decline of a sacred monster, Jules Maugin, an actor at the height of his glory . Beneath his famous personality, his big mouth, and his socially awkward exterior, lies an intimate portrait of a naked man.