Daily Archives

19 June 2015

What made you want to make this film ? Above all, for a long time, I had wanted to make films. When I started to consider this idea a little more seriously, I came up with a number of projects and this is the one that attracted the most attention. I don’t know if it’s […]

Why did you want to place a romantic idyll in the heart of the First World War ? For at least two reasons: the first, for purely structural reasons, was to place this love story in the context of dramatic events likely to transcend their passion through contrast, between the morbidity of a context that […]

Quand Catherine Breillat vous a-t-elle parlé de ce projet ? Depuis au moins dix ans, elle souhaitait faire un film avec moi. Nous avons évoqué plusieurs projets, et puis il y a eu Romance. Auparavant, elle ne me connaissait pas, elle ne m’avait vu que dans des films pornos et ne savait donc pas ce […]

Director’s statement of intent : Who is Hélène, and for whom ? "The truth? What an idea! Hélène… here or elsewhere… I liked to paint her… and she lent a meaning to death, you understand, Béraud!" That’s Franchin (Philippe Noiret) speaking. He is desperately trying to explain his model’s fatal gesture. Like him, Marie, Camille, […]

In my lifetime, I have frequented all kinds of men and women in some very strange worlds, including that of gambling. Paul, the hero of L’Affaire is the amalgam of several people whom I have met. He has the appearance of "X", the psychological make-up of "Y" and the inner rift of "Z" for nowhere […]

PUSHING THE LIMITS is a film but is it also a concept and a way of life ? Extreme sport is a state of mind and the notion of going beyond your own limits has become more important than proving something to someone. The idea of "pushing the limits" is above all humility. It’s a […]

Déclaration d’intentions du réalisateur Au départ de cette “Vie de Famille”, il y avait l’envie de montrer un père qui aurait été insuffisant, un peu absent, et qui se dirait qu’il est peut-être encore temps pour lui de faire quelque chose pour ne pas tout perdre de sa fille. Un père qui pourrait y croire […]

Why did you decide to adapt Coetzee’s novel "In the Heart of the Country" ? It’s the story of a woman told by a man. That surprised and fascinated me because he describes her by standing back from her body and her feelings. Filming a neurotic and sick woman didn’t necessarily interest me. I was […]

You’re one of France’s youngest and most renowned TV reporters. What made you want to tackle a fiction film ? In fact, it’s the opposite. I wanted to make movies before I started working as a reporter. Some people enter the movie business through advertising, writing or working as assistants, I did it through journalism. […]

FROM STAGE TO SCREEN Did you see "Death and the Maiden" on stage ? No. When I was first sent the text, Ariel Dorfman’s play was on at the Royal Court Upstairs in London, where it was a big hit. It then transferred to the main theatre and the West End before finally being staged […]