May 15, 2026 4:50am PT

Marie Kreutzer, Director of Cannes Competition Film ‘Gentle Monster,’ on Exposing Evildoers: ‘It’s Not the Creepy Guy Behind the Bush … It Could Be Someone You Trust’

Leo Barraclough

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Leo Barraclough

International Features Editor

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Courtesy of Film AG

At the start of 2023, as the awards campaign for Marie Kreutzer’s “Corsage” was in full swing, a bombshell landed: Florian Teichtmeister, one of its lead actors, was charged with possession of child pornography.

On Friday, Kreutzer debuts her latest film, “Gentle Monster,” in competition at Cannes. Its subject: a man is charged with possession of child pornography.

So, did the revelations about Teichtmeister – who pled guilty to the charge – influence “Gentle Monster”? “It didn’t really,” Kreutzer tells Variety. “The thing is, I was already working on the script before all that happened. Obviously, I was stunned, because I knew him.”

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Marie Kreutzer, Director of Cannes Competition Film 'Gentle Monster,' on Exposing Evildoers: 'It’s Not the Creepy Guy Behind the Bush ... It Could Be Someone You Trust'