I am a feminist at heart but not a militant, says French director Catherine Corsini

French filmmaker and actor, Catherine Corsini, who was the president of the jury for the Caméra d’Or prize at the Cannes Film Festival 2016, said she is a ‘feminist’ at heart but not a ‘militant’.

“There are different sorts of feminism, which exists in the world. I am not a militant feminist,” said the filmmaker.

Corsini, whose 2015 French film Summertime, was screened at the ongoing Kolkata International Film Festival, said she kept faith in women liberation and freedom of expression. Her thoughts clearly came across in Summertime, a film set in France in 1971, when women movement was gaining momentum.

The film talks about sexual liberation and revolves around two women — Delphine and Carole. When asked about the nudity in the film, Corsini said, “During the 1970s, the hippie movement was underway. Women didn’t want to be controlled by society. So nudity was their way of showing freedom. Also, women should not be treated as sexual objects.”

Corsini has watched a few Indian films at Cannes Film Festival, especially by Indian filmmaker Pan Nalin. Nalin has earlier directed films such as Valley of Flowers and Angry Indian Goddesses.

Corsini’s three films — Ambitious, Summertime and Three Worlds — are being screened in the Special Screening section in Kolkata film festival. Three Worlds, which competed in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival, 2012, was screened on Sunday at Nandan.

Corsini’s 2009 film Leaving depicted the life of a middle-aged married woman, who left her rich husband and fell for a common man. Corisini has always told the stories she wanted to. “We have to follow a set of rules or whatever our parents decide. So, we are not actually free to take our own decisions,” said Corsini.