(Paris) We had noticed it in The meaning of the party, from Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache. She was also one of the mistresses of ceremonies during the most recent evening of the Césars of French cinema. In The women of the squarea film by Julien Rambaldi (The best friends in the world, That’s life), Eye Haïdara has the opportunity to modulate a score in which she can assert her sense of comedy, while putting her talents to work in a story with real stakes.
When my agent, who had already read the script, told me about this project, he looked at me and said, “I think we were waiting for that one!”
Eye Haidara
“Indeed, when I read it myself, this woman moved me, made me smile and I completely embarked on her story. And then, yes, it’s true, I was expecting a role like that! “, adds the actress during an interview carried out during the Rendez-vous du cinema français of Unifrance.
Essential, undervalued jobs
Eye Haïdara thus found herself playing Angèle, an Ivorian living without papers in Paris, who hopes to be able to regularize her situation so that her 10-year-old son, who has remained in the country of origin, can come and join her. Endowed with a fiery temper and a glibness allowing her to sell almost anything to anyone, Angèle accepts, on the advice of a caring neighbor, a job as a nanny with a family bourgeois.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY K FILMS AMERICA
Vidal Arzoni and Eye Haïdara in The women of the square
Julien Rambaldi, who signs his fourth feature here, was inspired by his personal situation to write The women of the square.
“My son had a close relationship with the woman who kept him,” he says. I found this triangle formed between an employer, an employee and a child interesting. I realized how important these women, often undocumented, were in the organization of the personal and professional life of several families. The subject is rich, because the social contrast is striking. It also evokes the relationships of domination, even unconscious, that we maintain towards these women who hold jobs with very little supervision in terms of working conditions. »
PHOTO PROVIDED BY K FILMS AMERICA
Bwanga Pilipili, Eye Haïdara and Ahmed Sylla in The women of the squarea film by Julien Rambaldi.
The filmmaker wanted to tackle this theme without however falling into too heavy a social film. The women of the square is above all a comedy built around a colorful character. Julien Rambaldi’s ambition was to also highlight the essential role played by these often invisible and little-recognized women. The title of the feature film also refers to these nannies who, in the company of the children in their care, often meet at the local park to discuss this and that, and more particularly their relations with their employers.
I wanted to offer a film that was both sympathetic and funny, which also raises a lot of questions, he adds. Especially about the invisibility of these women and their great importance in the organization of society. These women are doing crucial things, but, oddly, undervalued.
Julien Rambaldi, director
“When we talk about immigration, particularly on the far right, we never mention all these people from elsewhere who have such fundamental functions, whether they are nursing assistants or looking after our children! »
A first leading role
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Eye Haïdara is the headliner of The women of the square
For Eye Haïdara, who is playing her first leading role in the cinema here, the strong character of the character was attractive, especially since the filmmaker sees Angèle as a kind of angel and troublemaker who comes to give a big kick in the anthill.
“This woman expresses things that others would never dare to say,” she says. They couldn’t contradict their employer in the same way either. Above all, Angèle manages to unite these women so that they can defend themselves. His character and his attitude were already described like that in the screenplay, but I also put my effort into trying to bring it all to life. So, yes, there is a bit of me in Angèle. »
PHOTO EMMANUEL DUNAND, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
At the recent evening of the Césars of French cinema, Eye Haïdara was one of the mistresses of ceremonies.
Having practiced this profession for nearly twenty years, the actress was overcome with emotion when she saw the final result, particularly during a screening marked by a long ovation at the Angoulême Francophone Film Festival.
“It obviously brings back a lot of memories, but we realize that we also forget many things. I learned not to project myself too much. I prefer to play in the present moment during filming and then rediscover things during the screening. And there, I must say that I enjoyed everything about this film. And I love her ! »
The women of the square is currently showing.
Travel expenses were paid by Unifrance.