Abdellatif Kechiche, the Palme d’Or-winning director of Blue Is the Warmest Colour, has “categorically denied” an accusation of sexual assault.

According to a report by the French news channel BFMTV, Paris’ public prosecutor’s office has opened an inquiry into an allegation made on 6 October by an unnamed 29-year-old actor, who accused Kechiche of assaulting her in June after a dinner at his flat in Paris.

According to the report, the actor said that after drinking several glasses of alcohol served by a friend of Kechiche’s, who was also present, she did not remember the course of the evening. She then claims to have woken up on the sofa, with her trousers open and Kechiche groping her.

Through his lawyer, the film-maker said he “categorically denies the accusations”.

Blue Is the Warmest Colour won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2013. The film’s two lead actors, Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux subsequently criticised Kechiche’s methods, specifically regarding a fight scene that left Exarchopoulos bleeding and an explicit sex scene that took 10 days to film. Seydoux has since said she “felt like a prostitute” at times during filming.