A couple of French independent producers are hit with allegations of sexual violence
Le SPI, one of the largest unions of independent producers in France, has temporarily suspended members Thierry Lunas and Claire Bonnefoy following accusations against the pair of sexual harassment and assault as well as workplace abuse by several former and current female employees.
Lunas is a major figure in France’s independent art and genre scene as the founder of the Capricci film group, while his partner Bonnefoy produces under the associated Bobi Lux label, which has produced Vincent must die.
With activities spanning production, distribution and publishing, under the Capricci Production, Capricci Films, Sofilm magazine brand and Capricci Éditions, the Capricci Group is a respected player in the art film and independent cinema scene in France.
Lunas’ producer credits include Giovanni Aloi The third warNetflix just acquired Philippot The swarm And Albert Serra The last days of Louis XIV.
He and Bonnefoy were the subject of two shocking reports from French investigative website Les Jours, which recounted allegations of predatory behavior and sexual harassment against young women trying to break into the film industry as well as workplace abuse.
The first report, published on October 12, showed accounts from 12 young women, several of them former employees and trainees, giving accounts of how spouses pushed or attempted to push them into sexual acts and long-term sexual relationships.
Nine of the 12 accusers in the report decided to remain anonymous and no formal complaints were filed with police against Lunas and Bonnefoy, but Les Gores said these women, along with 13 other women, formed a group to talk about their mistreatment while working at Caprici and Poppy Lux and decided to take their story to the press.
A former employee named Chloe (not her real name), who got one of her first film development jobs on set, recounted an episode in which the producers embarked on a game of truth in which they asked her to lower her jeans and Lunas asked her to sleep with Bonnefoy. She said she was under the influence of drugs at the time but refuted her advances.
Another woman named Elodie (not her real name) gave an account, confirmed by other employees of the Caprici group, of how she had fallen under the couple’s influence for several months while working at their production companies, and had entered into a sexual relationship with Lunas at Bonnefoy’s instigation, which she was forbidden to talk about with her colleagues.
“I had a constant fear of being fired from my job,” Les Jours quoted Elodie as saying. “I felt like I was wrong and that I couldn’t escape… I often felt like I was experiencing something out of the ordinary and closed my eyes to the fact that it was slowly consuming me.”
Another woman named Pauline (not her real name) said she first used drugs with the couple and that Bonnefoy also encouraged her to sleep with Lunas, which she later did while under the influence of drugs.
Lunas and Bonnefoy denied the accusations, as well as reports of drug use, saying the accounts were lies and noting that any intimate interaction with the accused was purely “consensual.” In the case of Elodie’s novel, Bonnefoy suggests that Elodie was obsessed with her, while the young woman insists that she was under the couple’s influence.
“They were all completely consensual,” Les Jours quoted Lunas as saying in response to the accusations. “If after the fact some women feel uncomfortable, I am sincerely sorry, but it does not result from sudden or forced consent.”
The first report quoted Lunas’ brother, Fred Lunas, a majority partner and chairman of FTL, the holding company for the Capricci Group, as saying that an internal investigation had been conducted by an independent audit firm in response to the allegations and that no form of moral harassment or sexual violence had been detected.
A second investigative article from the newspaper Les Jours, published on October 15, responded to this report with testimonies from 26 current and former Capricci employers, who detailed examples of abusive behavior at the company, which included Lunas getting angry at employees and throwing objects such as his phone and chairs across the desk. He denied these accusations.
The report also included a new response from Fred Lunas in which he said his brother had voluntarily stepped down from his roles at Caprici for the good of the group.
It also included a statement published on October 14 by Caprici Group employees – numbering about 26 people – in which they expressed their “outrage” at the reported “acts of sexual violence.”
They said the initial internal investigation referred to in Les Jours’ first report revealed a “feeling of unease within the company” and welcomed Lunas’ withdrawal.
“We passionately support this film-loving brand, which has been championing auteur cinema for 25 years, through many channels and in many forms,” the statement read. “This cannot happen with individuals accused of acts ranging from sexual harassment and assault, but also workplace violence and moral harassment.”
Deadline has contacted Thierry Lunas directly for comment on the allegations but has not received a response.
Outside the company, producer body Le SPI issued a statement on October 13, saying it was aware of the Les Jours article and the “very serious accusations” made against the producers.
The authority said: “SPI decided to implement the immediate precautionary measure of temporarily suspending its membership, pending the hearings stipulated in its statute and obtaining additional evidence that would prove the truth of the facts, and, if necessary, imposing sanctions that may amount to exclusion.”
The union reaffirmed its commitment to supporting and assisting victims and witnesses of moral, sexual and gender-based violence.
“We salute the courage of those who speak out, as they help break the silence that too often still protects the perpetrators of this violence, which destroys lives, as well as the trust, security and ethics that are essential to our sector,” her statement said.
In addition to his role in the Capricci Group, Lunas has also been a key player in the development of the French genre film sector, creating Capricci’s So Film Genre Screenwriting Residence, which is supported by the Center National de Cinéma (CNC) and has previously helped develop films such as The swarm.
In 2021, he created the genre-focused development and production company Wild West with Wild Bunch International (since renamed Goodfellas), but the company pulled out of the partnership last summer after it did not deliver the line-up of films stipulated under the deal.