C’est en tournant Il y a un ciel magnifique et tu filmes Angèle Bertrand, son premier court métrage autoproduit, que Justine Harbonnier fait connaissance avec Caiti Lord, qui s’y impose en tant que personnage secondaire. Présenté en première mondiale au MoMA de New York en 2014, le film plaît au public, visiblement touché par la jeune femme qui n’est pourtant pas au cœur du récit.
« Les spectateurs venaient la voir après la projection même si elle n’apparaissait pas tant que ça dans le film, et ça m’a beaucoup touchée et marquée », raconte la réalisatrice. Une belle amitié perdure entre les deux femmes, malgré une certaine distance. Et quelques années plus tard, Donald Trump est élu à la présidence des États-Unis.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, LA PRESSE
Justine Harbonnier et Caiti Lord
J’ai énormément pensé à Caiti. Je me demandais comment elle allait, comment elle le prenait [l’élection de Donald Trump]. I learned that she had moved to a small town in New Mexico and I listened to my intuition to go there to check on her.
Justine Harbonnier, director
A genesis that sets the tone. Caiti Blues, it is a political decryption disguised as a poem. It is the hopeful complaint of an entire generation in search of meaning. In Madrid, an American city “built on anti-system valuess », Reactions are mixed, according to Caiti Lord, who works in a cabaret-style bar there and does community radio there weekly. Some are busy ahead of the election of the new president, while others stopped believing in the system a long time ago, anyway.
There will always be music
Divided into chapters corresponding to song lyrics written by Caiti, the documentary focuses on her passion for music and her visceral need to sing. A former rising star in musical theater, she saw her dreams hampered by the difficult transition to adult life.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Caiti Lord
I had completely given up, I was never going to make music again. But when I moved to Madrid, my creative impulse and my desire to perform were rekindled.
Caiti Lord
The omnipresence of the queer community, the vitality of the artistic scene and the strong feeling of being able to be oneself pushed Caiti to be generously involved in her city. This is undoubtedly one of the keys that allowed Justine Harbonnier to film so closely the host of colorful characters appearing in the feature film.
In the background, the desert landscapes and western atmospheres of New Mexico, which sometimes seem to be the work of painters because they are so captivating. Images which perfectly illustrate the themes of the precariousness of everyday life and the stifling feeling of arriving at 30 and not seeing a viable future.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY PRODUCTION
Caiti Lord notably does community radio weekly.
“Many people who saw the film told me that it made them feel less alone and that they recognized themselves in the issues facing our generation in today’s world,” says Caiti. The bottom line is that there is hope in holding on to the things you love. If things go south, you still have your art. »
Justine Harbonnier looks at her protagonist with admiration. She couldn’t have known how to describe her film better. “That’s so well said. The world sucks, but we still have this. I thought of the film as the trajectory of a melancholy that transforms. »
Indoors
Documentary
Caiti Blues
Justine Harbonnier
1:24 a.m.