00:26This is Tim Wasper from Fast Track on CERC TV.
00:29I'm here in Austin, Texas for Fantastic Facts.
00:50Now on the reverse with Zealy, you know, obviously now, you know, her being older and sort of approaching this,
00:57I mean, because that role has to deal with sexism, has to deal with classism, has to deal with so
01:03many things and the brutality, obviously, beyond anything.
01:06Could you talk about working with her because the way she carries herself, whether she's dealing with the soldier, whether
01:12she's dealing with the boy on the farm,
01:15whether she's dealing with her father or her mother, which, by the way, that characterization of the mother is very
01:21interesting because of its purgatory, its aspects of gluttony and all these things.
01:26But can you talk about working with Zealy on that point?
01:30My first fear, really, when I thought, when I wanted to give the play to Zealy, it was actually her
01:36mother.
01:36Because I'm thinking, when she's going to read that script, I mean, she's probably going to freak out a lot,
01:42you know.
01:42And at that time, Zealy was still a minor.
01:46She was 17 years old.
01:48Yeah.
01:48And I was thinking, wow, this is going to be a little bit tough.
01:52But fortunately, Celine, her mother, is really cool.
01:56She knows me.
01:57She knows I'm serious.
01:59And so we talked also with her mom about the role of Zealy.
02:04And I reassured her.
02:06And it was just the same process as Zealy.
02:09We talked a lot about what she can do.
02:12You know, I was always respecting her limit.
02:15And she said, OK, I can go until that point.
02:20But I won't go further than that.
02:21She said, all right, OK.
02:23You know, so we made that very clear since the beginning.
02:28But Zealy was also very enthusiastic when she read the script.
02:33Because she said, also, this is really such a blessing to be able to play in such an extreme.
02:39But also, this is the kind of movie that I don't have a lot of chance to read on a
02:47daily basis.
02:48Did she ask certain questions of you about why, about this character?
02:53Oh, yes, yes, yes.
02:54Of course, she asked me a lot of questions regarding her mindset, regarding the arc that she goes throughout the
03:03story.
03:03You know, because we start with her and she's very, at the beginning, she's very submissive and very, a little
03:10bit frightened about her dad.
03:11And the more it goes and the more it goes and the more strength she got into finding a way
03:19of escaping this ordeal.
03:22So, yes, yes, yes, we met many, many, many times prior of the shooting and we have a lot of
03:28discussion and also with all the other actors, as I said, so many rehearsals.
03:35And the atmosphere on the shoot was very good, actually.
03:41It's very bleak, it's very dark, it's a movie.
04:09Because the thing is, you are making a piece of art.
04:11And the thing is, is that the visual style, the way you frame and everything like that, it has, you
04:17know, obviously those aspects to gothic.
04:20Yes, you're totally right.
04:21Because, you know, my background is painting.
04:25I used to be a painter for 10 years.
04:28And this really helped me a lot, understanding filmmaking.
04:35I wanted to be a filmmaker since I'm six or seven years old.
04:39And I never left that path.
04:41And I never left that promise that I made myself when I was a kid.
04:46But I thought that jumping in the big bass too early was not a very smart option.
04:53I think if you want to be a good author or a good filmmaker, unless you're a total genius, which
04:59probably I'm not, you shouldn't go there too early.
05:03Because you have to have a little bit of life weight on your shoulder.
05:09You know, you have to go through life in order to really have something to tell.
05:13And for me, I went to painting knowing that it was just a stage for me.
05:20But I wanted to understand how to tell a story throughout a single frame or how to control lightning and
05:30to play with the light, you know, with the colors and everything.
05:34So this is something that I really use right now, this knowledge on my on my on my on my
05:41film.
05:41So I also have a very close association with my GP.
05:47It's just the same as as an actor with, you know, with my GP.
05:50We worked for six months prior to shooting, talking about every frame, each frame, the color, the angle of the
05:58camera.
05:58Everything has a meaning.
06:00Everything, you know, if you place the camera on the right side or on the upper side or the downer
06:04side, I mean, it doesn't mean the same, you know, it's a grammar.
06:09And I would suggest every filmmaker to go through through through paintings for a short while in their life if
06:18they can do that, because it's a very, very good way of learning.
06:24It's a very good way of learning.
06:26It's a learning process.
06:26And and then after painting, I went into photography.
06:30I've done, you know, I was like a fashion photographer for a for a few years.
06:34And then I went into filmmaking, making my short films.
06:37And then from short films, I went to feature films.
06:40And here I am.
06:41But but it's it's it's really it's really a process.
06:44And I think I think you have to learn, you know, you have to you have to understand the image
06:49and the grammar of it all before before starting with that.
06:52That was my experience.
07:08Yeah, that actually leads into my next question, the aspect of environments, because obviously where you shot, it was very
07:15specific.
07:15But you also want that thing.
07:17But it's also not just of it's not just the house.
07:20It's not just the barn.
07:21It's not just these things.
07:23It's how you place people in the frame.
07:25Yes, totally.
07:26Totally.
07:27The scouting of the location also took a very long time because I had so many specific ideas that I
07:34needed to fit.
07:35And I really love to shoot in real location.
07:40I try to use studio as less as possible the same way I try to use VFX the less as
07:46possible.
07:47I like practical effect and I like real location because that really gives you a feeling of truthness, a feeling
07:54of reality.
07:55It's for me, it's much better.
07:57But while in some case you really don't have a choice, then, OK, it's fine.
08:01But the less for me, the less, the better.
08:04So the finding all those locations was really pretty much of a nightmare because I was never happy about what
08:11I was seeing.
08:13So I took a location scouter and we went through all France.
08:18You know, it's like we just drove everywhere to find the perfect place, which after maybe six months of looking
08:27everywhere,
08:27we went to an area of France called La Creuse.
08:31And La Creuse is a very deserted area in the center of France.
08:36And it's a very beautiful place with very few people actually over there, but very cool, nice, great, very nice
08:44people over there.
08:45So we were very, very welcomed.
08:47And I found this main place, this sort of huge 13th century farm that looked a little bit like a
08:55castle, but it's not really a castle.
08:57It's like a fortified stone farm.
09:04That's good business.
09:05Yeah.
09:16Very well.
09:17It's a good event.
09:17Bye.
09:17Bye.
09:17Bye.
09:20Bye.
09:20Bye.
09:27Bye.
