'By the Grace of God' trivia and fun facts
'Alexandre', working title
In 2018 March, François Ozon announced that, initially, ''By the Grace of God'' will name 'Alexandre' and that its plot are going to be about male minds.
Attempt of censorship
Bernard Preynat, the priest accused of sexual abuse and rape, tried to prevent the premiere of ''By the Grace of God'' before the Court stating that the film did not have the presumption of innocence, since the resolution of the trial is pending to have a definitive verdict . French justice ignored their demands and the film could debut without problems in the established date.
A terrible real story
The film is based on real events and tells how the Catholic Church hid the cases of sexual abuse committed by Father Bernard Preynat, arrested in 2016 and investigated in cases of rape and sexual assault since 1986.
Platform Word libéré réel collaborates with Ozon
François Ozon had the support of the members of the platform Word libéré réel, who came together to denounce the cases of Father Preynat, among them Alexandre Dussot-Herez, whose character in the film is played by Melvil Poupaud.
Winner of Jury Grand Prix at 69th Berlin Film Festival
The film was presented at the Official Selection of the 69th Berlin Film Festival, achieving the Grand Jury Prize, which was presided by the actress Juliette Binoche, with whom François Ozon has not worked at the moment.
Give the victims a loudspeaker
In an interview with Le Progrès, François Ozon said that the film was an allegation that gave a loudspeaker to the victims, who joined in the platform Word libéré réel. "Their fight is also mine," said the filmmaker.
Shot Secretly
The reason why ''By the Grace of God'' was provisionally titled 'Alexandre' was because François Ozon feared that the Catholic Church would initiate a boycott of the film if they really knew the subject of the film. The movie had to be completely shot in secret for fear of reprisals.