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French women’s groups have called for protests of the César Awards ceremony next month over the Académie des Arts et Techniques’ decision to name Roman Polanski President of the proceedings. A largely honorary title — the president’s main role is to declare the event officially open — it was bestowed upon the Polish filmmaker earlier this week. France’s version of the Oscars will be held February 24, nominations are this coming Wednesday.

But feminists’ org Osez Le Feminisme says it will boycott the event, slamming the Académie for honoring Polanski with the presidency. It has called for protesters to gather in front of the César venue on February 24. Many have taken to social media to decry the choice while the Minister of Women’s Rights, Laurence Rossignol, told France Culture the decision was “surprising and shocking.”

The 83-year-old Polanski has been wanted in the United States for 40 years over a 1977 child sex conviction.

In 1995, Mathieu Kassovitz’s exceptional debut, La Haine, was a shocking realization of the unjust ghettoizing of immigrants taking place in France, and the violent abuse of power by police forces, but its surprising how relevant the subject remains today, even outside of French borders. Not only does it still carry cultural significance, but the film continues to awe with its striking black and white long takes, and bold encapsulation of what living in the public housing projects is like for people growing up in them. The film places us in the bombed out cities where people burned their own businesses in protest, and graffiti covered neighborhood playgrounds where teens stagnantly talk about nothing all day long. By getting to know the area, and its residents, Kassovitz was able to make an important film, with both political and technical merits that stand side by side with outstanding performances by Vincent Cassel,...

PARIS -- French pay TV group Canal Plus, said Monday it will invest €1.3 million ($1.5 million) in French short films this year, a 38% increase from last year's budget. Canal Plus, already the leading investor in French television shorts, said the enhanced budget will allow it to increase the average price per minute for a pre-sold short film by 68%, to a maximum of €2,800 ($3,348) per minute for a film of less than 10 minutes. The price increase is in line with recommendations made by producer Alain Rocca, who recently completed a government-commissioned report on France's short film industry. "Short films are a breeding ground for talent and play an important role in the vitality of the French film industry, which is why we have decided to take additional measures to promote the sector, even though we have no government obligation to do so," Canal Plus managing director Rodolphe Belmer said, addressing industry professionals at the 28th edition of the Short Film Festival at Clermont Ferrand in central France, which wrapped this weekend.