Festival director Thierry Frémaux defended the pageant against the Portrait of a Lady on Fire actress’ accusations by arguing that her view was “misguided”, adding that “she did not suppose that method when she got here to the competition as an actress, a minimal of I hope she was not in some sort of mad contradiction”. It’s clearly abuse, and it’s horrifying when one daughter says she accepted the person’s behaviour because “she was so joyful to see the sunshine in her mother’s eyes when she was with him”. It’s a terrible story of self-sacrifice and the acceptance of abuse, because the avenues to battle it are so limited. In Khan’s In Flames, the horror of predatory male behaviour takes on a literal flavour with a stunning twist in course of the end. Her FriendFinderX life in Karachi is shown as being one where she has little company, as public areas are dangerous for a girl to be out alone. Add to this her mother’s overly watchful eye on her at home, born of worry for her daughter, and it’s apparent that Mariam’s life is defined by the predatory behaviour surrounding her.

“I just ran here from Italy, guys,” mentioned the British director, who was out of breath when she finally took the stage in a T-shirt and jogging shorts. If you wish to comment on this story or the rest you could have seen on BBC Culture, head over to our Facebook web page or message us on Twitter.