Lars von Trier 'does not hate women'

Charlotte Gainsbourg has denied accusations that Lars von Trier hates women.

The actress, who stars alongside Willem Defoe in von Trier's controversial Antichrist, told The Guardian that she felt that the director was understanding of her feelings when they shot the movie.

Gainsbourg said: "It's stupid to talk about his hatred towards women. I find on the contrary that he's depicting women - of course with violence and very hard sex and pain and suffering - but I don't think that he's judging in a negative way.

"I was willing to do it and I knew what I was doing, and I was not exploited. I saw it yesterday again and thought that I could finally see his vision. Not understanding, but I really saw an artist's film...I'm very proud to be a part of it."

However, Gainsbourg added that she "didn't feel comfortable at all" during the filming of a particular scene, which she described as "a porn shot" that had her face in the same frame as sexually explicit images.

"After that shot I felt I was in a different film, and I didn't feel comfortable. I'm not a prude at all, but after that I felt like I took a step back," she said.