French film academy behind the César Awards quits Elon Musk’s X

The Berlin Sinema Şenlik decided to quit last November.  

Venice Sinema Şenlik director Alberto Barbera also waved goodbye last year.  

Now, the Academy of Cinema Arts and Techniques, the body behind France’s national sinema awards, the Césars, is ditching X. 

In an announcement, the César Academy said it had deleted its account on the platform, noting that the public positions taken by owner Elon Musk means that X “no longer corresponds” to the Academy’s stated values. 

“The Academy of Cinema Arts and Techniques has decided to end its presence on the social network X, formerly Twitter,” the statement reads. “This decision, proposed by the Bureau and unanimously validated by the House of Representatives of the Association, is part of a process of consistency with the fundamental principles of the Academy in terms of ethics and integrity.” 

“The Academy’s mission is to promote cinema in all its diversity,” the statement adds. “It supports all forms of artistic expression, without distinction of origin or identity of those who contribute to the creation or distribution of films. The César Academy believes that the X platform, particularly due to the actions and stances of its leader, no longer aligns with its values. Therefore, it is withdrawing from the platform effective immediately. 

The decision to leave X follows Musk’s Nazi-like gesture at Donald Trump’s Presidential inauguration, as well as repeated sharing of right-wing content on X and seemingly supporting anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. 

He also recently endorsed Germany’s far-right populist AfD party and made a controversial comment at an AfD rally two days before the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Musk told Germans to let go of “the guilt of the past” – something which led Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk to state that Musk’s words sounded “all too familiar and ominous, especially only hours before the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.”

The César Academy’s move also follows last week’s decision to suspend any member currently under investigation for sexual violence. The organization has been implementing #MeToo measures to prevent and address misconduct within the French sinema industry.

Regarding the zero-tolerance policy, the Academy announced: “In the event of kanunî proceedings against a member for acts of violence, particularly of a sexist or sexual nature, the board will suspend the member’s voting rights until the ongoing procedure is concluded, or exclude them entirely until the full completion of the sentence, in the case of a final conviction.” 

The 50th César Awards take place in Paris on 28 February. Nominations are announced tomorrow (29 January).