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The ceremony announcing the winners of this year’s Cesar Awards, France’s equivalent of the Oscars, included a loud cry for culture in the age of the coronavirus, with one actor stripping naked on stage to make a statement about the continued closure of cinemas and theaters.
Corinne Masiero came on stage Friday night to present the best costume award wearing a donkey suit and tampons as earrings.
Masiero dressed up in fake donkey skin with stained blood all over her dress before she stripped herself. As a direct message to French Prime Minister Jean Castex, the actress had written, "no culture no future" and "give us our art back, Jean" on her back.
“Is that too trash?” Masiero asked the socially distanced audience before removing the donkey costume to reveal what looked like a blood-soaked dress and announcing “I have a last one.”
The art sector in France has been hit badly by the ongoing pandemic. Cinemas and theatres in the country have been closed since October 2020 and protestors have been occupying large theatre spaces to demand their reopening in compliance with the health guidelines.
"The cultural industry is one of the sectors that have been the most impacted by the covid-19 crisis", observed the French government earlier as it declared an additional 20 million euros ($24 million) in support of the art sector.
