The steps of the Cannes Film Festival will have a little something extra in 2025
People with reduced mobility should finally have access to the red carpet!
This is one of the events that caused a lot of talk at the Cannes Film Festival this year. After overcoming a first obstacle and fighting to ensure that the team for his film was well prepared, Artus has overcome a second challenge: that of the lack of accessibility for people with reduced mobility at the Palais des Festivals.
At the screening ofA little something extra, the director of this successful comedy climbed the steps alongside Boris Pitoëff, Marie Colin, Sofian Ribes, Théophile Leroy and Mayane Sarah El Baze – four actors with physical and/or motor disabilities. While Sofian Ribes, 19 years old, suffers from an autosomal recessive genetic disease which forces him to move around mainly in a wheelchair, Artus still takes him up the stairs… in his arms! A gesture which moved and which also highlighted the lack of accessibility for people with disabilities on the red carpet.
Cannes 2024: The joyful red carpet of Artus and his team from Un p'tit truc en plus (photos)
A situation deemed unacceptable by Fadila Khattabi, Minister Delegate in charge of the Elderly and People with Disabilities, who spoke a few days after the casting took place at nice morning :
“It is no longer acceptable to see these kinds of images, it is an attack on the dignity of the person to have to be carried to the top.”
In other words, like any other actor, he should be able to reach the Palais des Festivals without needing assistance. Also, the minister hopes that from next year, the steps will be accessible to people with disabilities: “It’s not up to them to adapt to society, it’s up to society as a whole to adapt to them.”
For the moment, according to the official website of the Cannes Film Festival, accredited disabled people must report their situation in advance to organize their arrival and identify entry points for people with reduced mobility. There is no indication that access exists for the red carpet.
Released May 1st, A little thing in addition remains unbeatable at the box office. With four million admissions in France, this touching comedy featuring disabled actors is the biggest success of 2024 ahead of Dune: Part 2. Artus gives visibility to those who lack it and gradually moves things forward: this is why he was so keen to climb the stairs with his team.
See you in May 2025 to see this evolution.
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