I look forward to enjoying my wife and kids. “As I am talking to you I am in the process of moving to a new house. This year, I just got back home to Los Angeles after being away for five months, first for the production of another film, followed by several weeks dedicated to the promotional tour for Chocolat's release. "Last year, for the Samba screening, I was shooting Chocolat. “Seriously, I wish I could be there,” he says. But the actor's schedule has prevented him from attending the UAE screenings. This is the second year in a row that Sy has starred in the FrancOfilm festival's opening film – last year's event opened with Samba. “What I said, exactly, is that from the moment someone feels excluded and mistreated, that he or she is not receiving the recognition he feels deserving, he has the right to express it, and the issue has to be raised in public.” “If I had to compare the US and France, I would say that in the US you have a lot more diversity on screen, both in cinema and on TV, than France – but in France, diversity is better represented in the awards. I am not in a position to suggest quotas either. I could comment on the French César awards if I feel like it, but not on the Oscars. I am not an American and I would not have dared to criticise the Oscars as a foreigner. “My comments were completely misrepresented by the media. “I am glad that you are asking me this question,” he said. Speaking to The National before Sunday's ceremony, he was keen to set the record straight. Sy recently found himself at the centre of the #Oscarssowhite controversy when he was quoted in the French media as supporting a boycott of the Academy Awards. “I would love to know what the audiences take from it, especially in the contemporary situation when the world is in a turmoil.”Īlthough the story takes place more than 100 years ago, many of the issues it raises about race remain relevant. They could not be made fun of, at least officially. “I find it interesting as well to follow his rise and fall – society had evolved and blacks were not the scapegoat or the punchbags any more. I cannot imagine the willpower he had to have to follow this lifepath. “Above all, I want his story to be known. “To be born a slave, get away from this status and become such an artist is just incredible. “I was touched by this powerful story,” he says. The film's star Omar Sy – who appeared in the blockbuster Jurassic World last year and was the Dubai International Film Festival Audience Choice Award-winning Samba in 2014 – hopes modern audiences will learn from the story of Chocolat. This year's FrancOfilm opens with the regional debut of Chocolat, based on the true story of a former slave who became 19th-century France's first-ever black clown.
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