Marie Kremer, Belgian actress, appeared in Costa-Gavras’ film Le Couperet, Un village français, Profilage, and as the co-scenarist in L’Affaire Laura Stern.

How did you approach the issue of forced suicide, which you address, of course, in the final scene?

Marie Kremer: Including forced suicide significantly increases the femicide rate. While working on coercive control, we also realized that coercive control is still very rarely addressed in the courts, and forced suicide is entirely part of that dynamic. For a long time, those cases were not counted in the statistics. Now that they are, the femicide rate rises considerably. For us, discovering that—and really becoming fully aware of it—changed quite a lot, at least for me personally, especially in the final episode.

Do you remember how the subject came into your process? Did you look into the debates and the controversies it provoked? Is it something you examined closely?

Marie Kremer: We looked into it because it allowed us to rethink the final episode—everything that happens in relation to the justice system. But it wasn’t our main focus. Still, realizing that it affected the statistics was very important for us. I can’t answer in great detail on that specific point, because our subject was broader—more generally about violence.

Marlène Schiappa introduced the law during the Grenelle, creating the codified offense of sexist outrage with fines. Forced suicide faced criticism, notably from Robert Badinter, who said only the individual is responsible. Yael Melul had long championed it. Did you contact her ?

Marie Kremer: No, we didn’t have direct contact. We read a great deal and reflected on it extensively, but we didn’t meet them. We worked primarily with a psychiatrist and with women’s shelters—organizations supporting women. I worked in Marseille at SOS Femmes 13, a large association. I spent an initial intensive week there, and then more time afterward. We worked as a duo with Frédéric Krivine. I carried the emotional and sensitive dimension, while he focused more on structure. He’s been a screenwriter for forty-five years. For me, the story also came from a personal emotion and from stories of women around me. I felt it was necessary to make something out of it so that my own life wouldn’t drift elsewhere.

Regarding the law, we were aware of it—Frédéric brought it in at a certain point because it was important to mention it. But what truly mattered to me in this series was the question of coercive control. Even if we had to remain broad—four episodes, public television—it is, in reality, much more complex, much longer, much more subtle. That’s what interested me most. I was deeply shocked by how long it takes for issues like forced suicide or coercive control to be recognized by the courts. I needed to speak about that.

You didn’t meet the people directly working on the issue?

Marie Kremer: We worked more closely with professionals—an important lawyer, for example, and with psychiatrist Daniel Zagury. He even appears in the series as himself. He helped us tremendously, especially in understanding the psychological tipping point—when does someone cross into madness? Is it when you kill? Is it when you detach from reality and enter isolation? He’s a leading specialist in forensic psychiatry in France, and he supports Frédéric in many projects.

Yael Melul was also involved in the Bertrand Cantat case.

Marie Kremer: I’m very interested in her work. I should say, though, that this series was born from a personal sense of injustice. I’ve been dealing with the justice system in my own life for several years. I’m careful about how much I reveal publicly. I usually speak only of a personal emotion and of stories around me, because I’m still involved in legal proceedings. But the series allowed me to move forward.

It’s a powerful work. These subjects are often mishandled in fiction. There’s a lot of frustration. The way certain media treated the Cantat–Marie Trintignant case was shocking.

Marie Kremer: It’s extremely delicate. That’s why we tried to approach it with care. For now, it’s airing on HBO and France Télévisions. We’re waiting to see how it resonates in households. It could stir anger—or even violence. That worries us. At the same time, it was important that it reach a broad audience so that discussion could take place.

What feedback has struck you most?

Marie Kremer: The audience reactions. The screenings are overwhelming. The discussions afterward could last five hours. We receive many testimonies online—especially from women. For once, social media is serving a purpose. It seems to be helping women. We’ve had fewer reactions from men, which concerns us somewhat.

Another powerful aspect is seeing Valérie Bonneton in a completely different role. She’s known for major comedies, and here she’s almost tragic.

Marie Kremer: She’s remarkable in it. We needed someone popular, someone audiences could relate to. That was the challenge.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)