Binoche: Intimacy Coordinators Can Create Problems

Juliette Binoche believes using intimacy coordinators can lead to a 'bad situation' because actors are performing without emotion.

The actress, 62, 'of course' understands why such experts have been brought in to safeguard performers but she believes people need to go 'beyond [their] comfort zone' in order to make love scenes appear convincing.

Speaking to The Guardian, she said: 'I've been approached about that. The vocabulary is all: "Are you agreeing that he touches this?" The body becomes a puzzle...

'It's not as simple as having an intimacy coordinator on set. When you're in a love scene it needs to come from the heart, the guts, the need. And so if you're thinking of the movement you're going to do and not of the feeling, you're in a bad situation.

'When you're embodying lovers, you overcome some fears of touching bodies. You really have to go beyond your comfort zone because otherwise you become a prude and not truthful to what's happening in life.'

But the Chocolat actress noted nude scenes are 'always difficult'.

She said: 'Each time you have to do nude scenes, it's always difficult. You have to focus on why you're doing them so you're not worried about them in a heavy way. It helps when you trust the director.'

Juliette learned the hard way when she discovered her Alice and Martin director André Téchiné had breached his promises to her when she agreed to a nude scene.

Without giving details, she said she 'felt betrayed' and ultimately persuaded producers to remove the footage and never worked with the director again.

Elsewhere in the interview, the Staircase actress insisted she isn't 'worried' about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the film industry.

It comes after Juliette offered her passionate support for women filmmakers from the Arab world at a packed event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia last year. 

The French movie legend was speaking on stage at the Red Sea International Film Festival. The star of The English Patient was visibly moved as rising Saudi director Shahad Ameen described the challenges of being accepted in the movie world.

‘Go for it, baby!’ Juliette told Shahad, as she said she feared her vision was too ‘weird’ for mainstream audiences.

Shahad’s film Hejira is a moving and beautifully shot story about two girls accompanying their grandmother on the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca.

Saudi women’s lives have been transformed in the past decade as strict prohibitions on dress, behaviour – and even driving cars – have been lifted.