‘Josephine’ Director Beth De Araújo Delivers Powerful Speech Condemning Cornell Rape Case

“Josephine” director Beth de Araújo used her Breakthrough Director Award acceptance speech to ask men to “hold each other accountable” at the Critics Choice Association’s Celebración of Cinema & Television.

When “Josephine” director Beth de Araújo stood onstage at the Four Seasons Beverly Hills on Friday afternoon to accept the Breakthrough Director Award at the Critics Choice Association’s Celebración of Cinema & Television 2026, she said “I had something very different planned to say today, but it’s been a heart wrenching week and I know my collaborators would want me to use his time to talk about it.”

Though her speech had started off on a cheerful note, thanking presenter Jason Blum for his kind words, and for having produced her directorial debut “Soft and Quiet,” de Araújo began to tear up thinking about the motivations for making her celebrated sophomore feature, which had the rare distinction of winning both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award for the Dramatic Competition at Sundance this year, and how it connects to current events involving the recent rape case at Cornell University.

Below is the “Josephine” filmmaker’s acceptance speech, lightly edited and condensed for clarity and length.

“When I was eight, my father and I interrupted a rape in the park. I started writing ‘Josephine’ when I was 27. Just after the first time my father and I ever discussed what had happened, I asked him why didn’t he explain to me what rape was when I asked on the day? Why didn’t he explain to me what was going on?

How does a father explain to his eight year old daughter what rape is? It’s an impossible task. You can’t even tell your eight year old daughter it’s uncommon or unlikely to happen to her. This is what I wanted to explore in our film. This impossible task for a father to convince his daughter that she’s safe as this fear becomes a part of who she is and how she moves her body through this world.

The first words I heard out of the victim’s mouth was a screeching cry out for help. My father, a Brazilian immigrant, chased after the man, and helped the police make an arrest. But this week we have come to learn that other men did not come to a former Cornell student’s aid when she needed it. The details are horrifying. The Cornell administration that gave leniency to these boys are at best sympathizers who valued those boys’ lives over Jane Doe’s.

These men were going to graduate and become our next leaders. It’s a reminder of why so many people carry pain in silence. Not one of those 50 men behaved like my father when they saw an injustice. Not one. Rape and rape culture are global epidemics. The words we’ve read in the fraternity text chain are not an anomaly.

To the men who have not lost their humanity. Please hold each other accountable even when it’s uncomfortable. Be the man who chases, not the man who laughs with the group. Help the women and girls in your lives. If a young filmmaker asks you for notes on a cut of her film, give them. Any small engagement is enormously motivating and helpful for her persistence. If for no other reason, do it for yourself because the stories we tell raise the leaders who will show up for us then when we need them.

I did not have the capacity to help the young woman in the park when I was eight. I didn’t yet have the faculties. I made ‘Josephine’ with the purpose of answering the woman’s call for help now.

This week I kept wondering ‘What would Jane Doe have grown up to be when she graduated?’ The doctor, senator, the journalist. In the only way she could, with anything left that she was able to muster, she cried out to us for help and I really hope we all answer that call.

To my film family, Gemma [Chan], Channing [Tatum], Phil [Ettinger], Syra [McCarthy], our cast and crew, our producers, thank you for answering that call. It was a hard story, but they made it a joyful set for me. And to Mason [Reeves], our Josephine, thank you for giving this character more honesty, love, and resilience than I could have ever asked for. And to everyone who has watched this film and who has talked about it, I really thank you.”