(Toronto) Six years ago, American comedian Louis C. K. came to the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) with the highly anticipated I Love You, Daddy, just as allegations of sexual misconduct against him were taking hold. of importance.
The film sold at TIFF for $5 million, but before it could hit theaters, its premiere was canceled and its release scuttled. After years of rumors, a New York Times article from November of that year detailed allegations from several women describing incidents in which C. K. masturbated in front of female colleagues.
Now, a new documentary premiering in Toronto, where C.K.’s downfall began, looks at one of the cases of
“In the early years, the advice I was given was: Don’t make this movie,” recalled Suh, who directed the Barack Obama-narrated documentary series Working: What We Do All Day .
Suh, herself, was a big fan of Louis C. K. and did not immediately view the allegations against the comedian as damning – especially in comparison to other cases in the movement.
“Honestly, my first reaction was: Is this so bad? “, she said.
Sorry/Not Sorry, acquired by Greenwich Entertainment for distribution after its premiere at TIFF, reexamines the scandal and its aftermath, particularly in light of the thriving comeback of C.K. The Comedian, who acknowledged that “these stories are true” in his 2017’s Apologies, won last year’s Grammy for Best Comedy Album and performed in front of a sold-out Madison Square Garden in January.
According to Mones, it appeared that many people were hesitant to talk about the thorny issues of consent and power when it came to C.K. – and that was a good reason to make the film.
“It was in a gray area for a lot of people. It seemed unusual among all the stories that were starting to come out, she said. There are many questions to explore. »
The filmmakers particularly wanted to detail the experiences of the women who went public with their encounter with C.K. Some later struggled to achieve success in comedy or were heckled online by his supporters. Comedian Abby Schachner, who recalls that C. K. did not ask permission before masturbating while speaking to her on the phone in 2003, talks about her fears of being publicly defined by the scandal.
“There were questions to ask and perspectives to express. And these perspectives are really about the women who have come forward,” says producer Kathleen Lingo.
“What happens when a woman tells the truth? What’s happening to him ? »
Several figures from the comedy world are interviewed in the film, including comedian Jen Kirkman, who first alluded to C.K.’s behavior in a podcast in 2015. Comedian Megan Koester, the co-creator of the Parks and Recreation series Michael Schur and Noam Dworman, owner of New York’s Comedy Cellar, also appear in the film.
But it’s also important to know who isn’t in the movie. Louis C. K. was not interviewed and did not respond to the filmmakers’ requests. And they claim that almost all of the prominent comedians contacted did not want to be interviewed.
At the same time, C. K. returned to comic monologue and often addressed scandal. In his 2020 self-distributed special, Sincerely Louis C. K., he began by asking the audience about his later years. “Has anyone else gotten in trouble on a global scale? “, he said.
Later in the show, he addressed the incidents more directly.
“If you want to do it with someone else, you have to ask first,” he said. But if they say yes, you still can’t say, “Woo!” and go for it. You have to check often, I guess that’s what I would say. It’s not always clear what people feel. »
Whether comments like these were enough to redeem him is one of the film’s overarching questions.
“Our intention was to make a film very based on facts,” emphasizes Caroline Suh. We don’t want to speculate: why did he do that? Just stating the facts could be helpful. »
Sorry/Not Sorry, due out next year, comes after a series of setbacks for the movement
“We have the impression that every time there is a current event, we say to ourselves: “
“It’s been what, six years, and I think it’s an incredibly revolutionary movement. We are still in this. »
