Cannes Director Accused of Throwing Cell Phone at French Actor Judith Chemla, Casting a Shadow

French actor Judith Chemla, the 37 year-old French star of “Mes freres et moi,” will not attend the world premiere of the film at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard on July 12 after an alleged incident involving the director of her film throwing a cell phone at her, Variety has learned.

Chemla filed a complaint on July 4 against Yohan Manca, the director of “Mes freres et moi,” who is also her boyfriend. The alleged assault took place on July 3 in the street near Theatre du Rond-Point in Paris.

Chelma’s and Manca’s reps have not responded to Variety’s requests for comments.

According to a source close to Chemla, the actor is alleging Manca, with whom she has a daughter, of throwing a cell phone at her face. A source close to Manca and Chemla told Variety that the couple was having an argument and Manca became very violent. They’ve been dating for five years.

Sources say Manca has also canceled his plans to attend the premiere; he’s currently in Paris watching over his daughter, while Chemla is at the Avignon Festival where she will be delivering a musical performance onstage on July 13. She’d initially planned to stop by Cannes for a few hours for the film premiere between rehearsals.

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Chemla filed a complaint on July 4 at the police station in the 10th district. A rising French actor, Chemla is best known for her roles in Stephane Brize’s “A Woman’s Life” and Noémie Lvovsky’s “Camille Rewinds.”

Rumors of the alleged attack have been swirling on the ground at Cannes over the last few days, as news of Chemla’s absence has made its way along the Croisette. She is the best-known actor in the cast of “Mes freres et moi,” which revolves around a 14-year-old boy who is growing up in a housing project in the south of France with his four brothers and their ailing mother in a coma. The film marks the feature debut for Manca, who is also an actor.

This year’s Un Certain Regard jury is presided over by Andrea Arnold and includes Mounia Meddour, the director of “Papicha.” A representative from the festival declined to comment on the allegations.

K.J. Yossman contributed to this story.

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Update: 2024-08-12

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