From Rockstar to Assassino – The Cantat case on Netflix: “There is still silence around the Cantat case. At the time there was talk of “passionate crime”: it was a femicide “

The documentary has arrived on Netflix From Rockstar to Assassin – the Cantat case, who tells the life of Bertrand Cantat, charismatic leader of the French rock band Noir Désir, and the femicide he has made. In 2003, Cantat was arrested for the death of her partner, the actress Marie Trintignant, who died following a violent dispute in a hotel room in Vilnius, Lithuania.

In the 2004a Lithuanian court recognized him guilty of pre -intentional murder and condemned him to eight years in prison. Cantat had attacked Marie Trintignant causing fatal wounds to the head. The actress died after a few days of coma.

Cantat has Discounted only four years in prisonobtaining conditional freedom in 2007 For good conduct. The case triggered strong controversy in France, especially in relation to domestic violence and the possibility for him to return to public life and music.

Through archival images and exclusive testimonies, the series From Rockstar to Assassin – the Cantat case, Analyze the complexity of the case, the media and judicial process that followed, and its repercussions on French society. The documentary also faces some subsequent events, such as the suicide of Cantat’s wife, Krisztina Rády, in 2010, and the controversies related to his attempts to return to the music scene. Anne-Sophie Jahn, Journalist and co-regista of the documentary tells how this project was born.

How was this documentary born?
«It was a very long creative process, which lasted four years. It is an extremely complex topic, which has been often treated, but never so definitive and exhaustively. The idea, putting out together with Nicolas Larigue, co-regista of this documentary, was to find a way to make this story resonate today, in 2025, even for those who perhaps were completely in the dark about the story. The biggest challenge was to make people speak, because it is a topic around which there is a real silence. It is absurd because this story is more than twenty years old and one might think that now those who know would have less problems opening up ».

Have you collected new testimonies?
«Yes, we interviewed several dozen people, which is really enormous and quite unpublished, both among the family and friends of Marie Trintignant, and among those of Bertrand Cantat. Having talked to them in front of a camera was a real challenge, but it was also essential to be very precise about the facts. Especially for a theme like this, which concerns violence against women, it is necessary to be extremely rigorous. Although it is a compelling story for many reasons – it is a drama that has involved two superstars – there was a huge job of verifying the facts done by the team’s journalists. The goal was to be able to involve both those who already knew the story and those who did not know it and make sure that everyone came out of it with new information, but above all with questions, that they appropriates the story and that a debate was created “.

One of the salient points of the series is the video of the Bertrand Cantat hearing in Vilnius, which seems surreal.
«Those images had already been broadcast once on television. They are not unpublished, but we show a much wider amount and this is precisely what characterizes the Cantat case: many things have been revealed, but in a marginal way or without having great impact. When they are disseminated by extrapolating them, it is difficult to understand their scope and strength, both images and information. Here, however, putting together and connecting documents such as that hearing – which is absolutely shocking, really touching – everything takes another size. It lasts hours … we watched both recordings in full, and when you see seven hours in a row, you understand not only Bertrand Cantat’s psychology, but also its strategy to get out of it. Put all this in perspective, comparing it with the way it has been reported, listened to and with what the company has retained since that hearing, is what makes it really powerful. When all these elements come together and look at them together, you understand how absolutely this story is absolutely crazy ».

“At the time we had no news from the family of Marie Trintignant”

The document is dismantled the reconstruction of the accident made by the defense. Both the defense in court and the media strategy, with the use repeated several times of the expression “passionate crime”.
«Absolutely, and it is precisely for this reason that the documentary is still extremely current today. They still hear people say: “Oh, but it was an accident”, there are attenuating to the consumption of alcohol or drugs … as if having smoked a barrel was a reason to be beaten to death. It is a completely crazy thing. It is really important to tell this story again because there is still a huge misunderstanding. Even in terms of language used, this case allows you to understand how much perception has changed in twenty years. At the time, the press spoke of “passionate crime”, really reflecting the collective vision of that time. Fortunately, that vision has changed, has evolved, and today we speak of femicide. The Cantat case is one of the greatest testimonies of this change ».

Among the testimonies are those of Lio, who at the time was almost the only one to talk about the case in the context of domestic violence, and Richard Kolinka, drummer of the Téléphone and father of one of the sons of Marie Trintignant. Their voices, at the time, remained unheeded?
«The incredible thing is that we realize that these two points of view existed already in 2003, but that the family and friends of Marie Trintignant were not listened to. Even today it is not their version that prevails. Why? Because the defense of Bertrand Cantat has implemented an extremely effective communication strategy in the period before the process. We refused to accept that it was a killer, it took years to admit it ».

Why?
«The main reason is that, as in all cases of femicide, the victim is no longer able to speak. The only voice that can be heard is that of the culprit. And that voice ends up overlooking everything else. The Trintignant family at the time was really devastated by pain. Nadine Trintignant had just lost his daughter, in terrible circumstances, and moreover they were all together: she was directing the film, her son Vincent was assistant to the direction, and Marie’s son, Roman, was part of the cast. They were in shock, destroyed by pain, and they could not speak. On the other hand, however, there was a very organized clan, with an effective communication strategy, supported by friends, by the musical group and by Universal, the largest record company in the world. They had a power of spreading their infinitely stronger ideas than that of the Trintignant family, which is a family known in the world of cinema, but of an author’s cinema, not as mainstream as the noir désir, to understand each other. It was a bit of a clash between Davide and Golia. There was a total imbalance. “

Much of the document is concentrated on Krisztina Rády, ex -wife of Bertrand Cantat and mother of her children, who committed suicide in 2010. You can see the part that she had in supporting the ex -husband during the trial, the detention period, the transfer to France and at the time of release. It is a tragic story, but still unknown enough.
«Krisztina Rády is really the great forgotten of this story. His story is as touching as that of Marie Trintignant, precisely because it has been completely forgotten, canceled. Still, what he has lived is absolutely terrible. Thanks to some documents, in particular a vocal message that he left to his parents, we hear it tell what he has experienced: she too has undergone violence ».

“We still have a rather sick relationship with celebrity”

Thinks That if the case took place in 2025, would the judicial and media treatment be very different from that of 2003?
«Yes and no. Changes are seen. To begin with, the expression “passionate crime” is no longer used. It is noted that Bertrand Cantat has lost some of his untouchable icon status today. It has not been “canceled” and this is certainly not the purpose of the documentary: the intent is rather to give space to different voices, to allow the freedom of expression to be worth even for those who are contrary to their return to the scenes, which was not possible before. Until a few years ago, Bertrand Cantat seemed to really have the way to return. Now, however, a new generation of feminists is seen that much more attentive to the terms used by the press, a new generation of journalists more sensitive to these issues and more vigilant. From this point of view, the media have a great responsibility: the choice of words is fundamental. Today we would clearly talk about femicide ».

Also considering the notoriety of the protagonists?
«I think the violence would be less justified today. However, the road is still long. The battle is not yet won, on the contrary. We continue to have a rather sick relationship with the celebrity, which must be dismantled. There are still many prejudices to break down, a real awareness is needed. And when you see that the number of feminicides, year after year, does not decrease, we have the tragic proof that it is a theme still very current today ».

What happened to Bertrand Cantat? He tried to return both with an album and with live concerts. Recently there has been talk of a possible reunion of the noir désir. At what point are we?
«He still has a musical group called Détroit, with whom he has been doing music for years. From 2018 onwards he became more cautious with his returns on stage. There was a real “before and after” #metoo compared to the question of the public scene. This does not mean that he stopped with music, far from it: he has recently released an album. But it is seen that the times have changed: it no longer makes tour in the big buildings, as had happened on the 2013-2014 tour, which at the time was a huge success. Today he still has supporters. Last year, for example, there was a crowdfunding campaign that had a completely unexpected success and that surprised many people. He continues to make music, and he is his right ».

Richard Kolinka.

Richard Kolinka, also a member of a legendary group, says in the documentary: “What I wanted to be that he no longer felt about this boy”.
«He speaks for himself, with his belly, and I think it is important to include it in this documentary because it shows that domestic violence does not concern only two people. Even today it is a very rooted prejudice that must be absolutely dismantled, because it is a matter of life or death. Domestic violence is not an intimate crime that remains closed behind the bedroom door. It affects many people. When a woman is killed by her partner’s blows, suffering does not only concern the victim, but extends to his family, his circle, to friends. It is a group of people who will be traumatized for life. Richard Kolinka’s words clearly express how much this suffering is transmitted through generations for decades. That’s why it is essential that we talk about this form of violence: the more you talk about it, the more you can really prevent it. We must absolutely talk about it and listen to the voice of all those who have been struck by it ».