Bungalow is a black comedy whose story is built around a young couple who believe they are getting a good deal by buying a completely dilapidated house in urgent need of renovations. How did the idea for this film come about?
When I make films, things start from me. I put my wounds, my traumas, the anecdotes of my life. I grew up on renovations and I’m a decorating show freak. If I was told that I was going to die in two weeks, the only two TV stations I would listen to constantly are Casa and Canal Vie. The characters of Bungalow are extensions of who I am. I wanted to meet what I like about TV and what I like about cinema. The main causes of separation among couples are renovations, the desire – or not – to have children and debt. In Bungalow, we have all three. I was inspired by all the things I’ve experienced or seen. Realizing An almost perfect dinner for six years, I entered 175 different houses!
The pair of Bungalow lives real dramas, in a setting that may seem crazy on the surface. How did you come to choose Sonia Cordeau and Guillaume Cyr to play Sarah and Jonathan, the main characters?
I have known Guillaume since his years at the National Theater School and he played in Score, one of my short films. He has been there since the start of the project. For the character of Sarah, which is very inspired by myself, Sonia auditioned. Even if Sarah is an intense and dominant woman who uses psychological violence, Sonia immediately brought a very crystalline, very fragile, very delicate side. She brought nuances that I don’t have. In everyday life, I always seem to be overacting my own life in a summer theater. Sonia was able to make people believe in the character. As the decor is very garish, the actors had to not overdo it.
Can we say that Bungalow is a genre film? There are, however, certain elements that fall under it…
I say rather that I make fusion cinema. I can’t really fit into a box. I myself am a fuckee completely insane, I have ADHD, I don’t manage myself, I cook everything broil, and my cinema looks like me. I have lots of ideas, like a pizza all dressed extra bacon, I swear all that in there telling myself that it will work. My approach is not at all intellectual. I follow my instincts, my desires.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY OPALE FILMS
Sonia Cordeau is the alter ego of the director in Bungalowa film by Lawrence Côté-Collins.
In communications to the media, you are defined as a queer artist. Is it important for you to define yourself this way?
We are coming to a time when it is as if it were new to talk about diversity. We are campaigning for the iel, non-binarity and transgender, but I, a bisexual woman whose films often talk about male-female dualities, I have always claimed my bisexuality in my private life and in my cinema, even at a time where it was very frowned upon. Today, we want to know if an artist has a mental health diagnosis, what their sexual orientation is, if they have aboriginal roots or if they are disabled, and we write diversity into forms. If it has become fashionable, well I’m going to flash it, my diversity!
Is that a good thing in your opinion?
Yes, because society has long been patriarchal, too white, too little to listen to natives and minorities. There, we live a period where we seek in the other extreme. Personally, I find that for funding applications, projects should be submitted anonymously.
You were part of Kino Montreal for 15 years. Bungalow marks your entry into a cinema intended for a wider audience. How do you feel on the eve of the release of your film?
That’s wonderful ! I want to infiltrate the system while keeping my style. I don’t want to be swallowed or formatted. When I make television, I am at the service of the machine and when I make cinema, I want the structure to serve my own machine. My bet is to come up with something different. I would like my auteur cinema to also speak to the public aboutAn almost perfect dinner.