Laetitia Mallette could hardly have found a more unusual place to launch the international career of her first short film, So kiss me. It is indeed in Bajina Basta, a small town in western Serbia, that the young 21-year-old filmmaker will present her film on Friday evening.
“Before I left, my father said to me: ‘Take advantage of it, because it’s not every day that you get the chance to go there.’ He is right ! “confided laughingly the Quebec director in a telephone interview granted to the Log Tuesday, the day before his arrival in Serbia.
So kiss me, his first production, is part of a selection of 25 short films that will be screened at Bajina Basta this weekend as part of the Basta Fest festival. The screenings will take place under the stars, in the bucolic setting of this small Serbian town located in the Drina Valley.
“It’s quite an honor to be able to present my film at this festival because only 25 short films were selected, out of the 700 films submitted this year, underlines the young filmmaker. I am very grateful for everything that happens to me. I’m only 21 and this is my first film! »
Self-funded
Laetitia Mallette shot So kiss me two years ago, when she was only 19 and had just finished her DEC in cinema at Cégep Marie-Victorin. The film, which was also presented at the Festival Regard de Saguenay last March, tells the story of three young people who flee Montreal and take refuge in a chalet after experiencing trauma following a tragic accident.
Laetitia Mallette succeeded in convincing the actors Robin L’Houmeau and Marguerite Bouchard to participate voluntarily in the shooting of her film, entirely self-financed.
“I was looking for actors who would embody these characters in a human way, and that’s what they did,” says the Montrealer. I took a chance even though no one knew me and who I was. I wrote to them to tell them that I had written this short film, that I had no fee to offer, but that I was passionate about cinema, like them. They agreed to act in the film voluntarily, which is still crazy. I am very grateful for what they offered and gave to my film. »