(Berlin) Monia Chokri still had her head in the clouds, Saturday morning, Paris time, after a very short night. But his feet remained firmly planted on the ground. The day before, against all expectations, the Quebec filmmaker won thanks to Simple like Sylvain the César for best foreign film, to the beard ofOppenheimer by Christopher Nolan. A film that everyone, starting with her, saw winning the prize in this category.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Nolan, I really didn’t expect that!” “, she declared straight away on stage, causing a lot of laughter in the room of the 49e Caesars evening and a spontaneous smile from the main person concerned. “It was clear from my reaction that I didn’t believe it,” she told me in a telephone interview the next day. I remained frozen in my seat. It’s like my brain isn’t sending the signal to my body to get up. I couldn’t move. There was a sort of hesitation. It was larger than life. »
I was at the Berlinale with the team of Like fire by Philippe Lesage, Grand Prize of the jury in the Generation 14plus section. A supercharged team because one of the main actors in the film, Arieh Worthalter, had just won the César for best actor (for The Goldman trial). A young actor in Lesage’s film, Noah Parker, is a friend of Monia Chokri. There are those evenings when Quebec cinema triumphs almost everywhere and a columnist would like to have the gift of ubiquity.
Monia Chokri was still floating on Saturday, with good reason. His feat is nothing short of historic. Monia Chokri became the second Canadian, after Xavier Dolan in 2015, to Mommy, to win the prestigious César for best foreign film. And only the fourth woman to be thus acclaimed by the Academy of Césars, after Jane Campion for The piano lesson (1994), Sofia Coppola for Lost in Translation (2005) and Valerie Faris (with Jonathan Dayton) for Little Miss Sunshine (2007).
The César for best foreign film, awarded since 1976, counts among its winners a number of masterpieces, including A separation by Asghar Farhadi, In the Mood for Love by Wong Kar-wai, All about my mother by Pedro Almodóvar, Fanny and Alexander by Ingmar Bergman or even A particular day by Ettore Scola.
“I can say today that the life I have is bigger than the one I dreamed of,” said Monia Chokri in conclusion of her thanks on Friday. A sentence that she had slipped into the ear of her friend Magalie Lépine-Blondeau, the main actress of Simple like Sylvainduring a tribute to Wim Wenders at the last Lyon Light Festival.
It wasn’t justOppenheimer as a competitor to Simple like Sylvain in the César category for best foreign film. There was also Perfect Days by Wim Wenders, Dead leaves by Aki Kaurismäki and Pick up by Marco Bellocchio, works by filmmakers whose reputation is well established, all selected in official competition at the most recent Cannes Film Festival.
“Frankly, I already felt like I had won when the film was nominated for the Césars. There are many great foreign films that have been distributed in France in the last year,” recalls the filmmaker from Simple like Sylvainwho competed at Cannes last May in the Un Certain Regard section, considered the antechamber of the competition.
Although I personally preferred Simple like Sylvain has Oppenheimer, this Caesar obviously remains a huge surprise. First, because the blockbuster by Christopher Nolan was seen by more than 4 million spectators in France, while Simple like Sylvain has made some 275,000 “entries” so far. Then, becauseOppenheimer will undoubtedly win the most prestigious prizes at the next Oscars Evening, on March 10.
The victory of this “little Quebec film made with so much love”, as Monia Chokri described it on stage, is all the more surprising given that Christopher Nolan was on hand to receive an honorary César. It’s easy to imagine that the organizers of the ceremony were convinced that the British filmmaker would also win the César for best foreign film. I may be cynical, but when I knew that Nolan was going to be honored, I told myself that it was all over, as they say in Paris, and that the Academy of Caesars was going to kill two birds with one stone. . I was wrong.
“I would never have dared to imagine such a scenario,” admits Monia Chokri, who uttered the word “miracle” several times during our interview. “I felt affection for my film, as I often do in France. Of course, I have friends who told me they voted for me. But there are 5000 voting members! »
This prize is of particular importance for the author-filmmaker who “grew up” with French cinema. “I didn’t speak English when I was young in Quebec. It was French cinema that made me dream of becoming an actress. I watched the César ceremonies, and in my wildest dreams, I imagined myself winning this magnificent trophy as an actress. But I could never have imagined having access to it as a filmmaker! »
It is still too early to measure the impact that this prestigious award will have on Monia Chokri’s career, particularly in France, but it will certainly have repercussions. “It’s certain that it sheds light on the film, which will perhaps be seen more,” she admits. I was told after the ceremony that the prize would open doors for me. Certainly… But the important thing is that I write a good next film. I have to keep a cool head and stay focused on work. »
With success inevitably comes the pressure to maintain the level, she recalls. “I’m a fifth of the way through writing my next script and I’m at the stage where I can’t think of anything good! The damnation of the artist is to be condemned to constantly surpass oneself. I worked really hard on my latest film. The next one needs to be even deeper and more precise. »
This unexpected reward obviously remains a validation of the work accomplished and an encouragement for what is to be done. “It gives me courage. It tells me: “If you work hard, Monia, you can do it!” » We don’t doubt that for a single second.