Looking back, Sandrine Kiberlain now realizes how much her first feature film as a director speaks to her. A young girl who is well evokes the career of Irène, a 19-year-old girl whose most ardent desire is to become an actress. The one we saw recently in Chronicle of a temporary liaisonby Emmanuel Mouret, was obviously able to identify with his heroine’s passion for dramatic art.
PHOTO JÉRÔME PRÉBOIS, PROVIDED BY AD VITAM DISTRIBUTION
Rebecca Marder is the headliner ofA young girl who is wella film by Sandrine Kiberlain.
“When you write a feature film script for the first time, you don’t realize how much you talk about yourself, even if you don’t tell your own life story,” says Sandrine Kiberlain during an interview. by videoconference granted to The Press earlier this week.
PHOTO YOHAN BONNET, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
A young girl who is well is the first feature film written and directed by Sandrine Kiberlain.
When I see A young girl who is well today, I realize that I am talking about myself even more than I suspected when I wrote it. Inevitably, I made Irène an actress in the making because I wanted to talk about youth, about the excitement of the first times. At that age, I myself had the impression of a rebirth discovering my passion for the theater.
Sandrine Kiberlain
The most beautiful of youth
The theme of youth is opposed, however, to the time in which Irène lives her young years. Sandrine Kiberlain in no way wanted to embark on a historical reconstruction, but the fact remains that in this year 1942, when the Nazis occupied Paris for two years, the destiny of a young Jewish girl is inevitably marked by the one of the darkest chapters in human history.
“I think that to approach this period again in cinema, you have to have a unique idea”, indicates the one who, in 2014, won the César for best actress thanks to her performance in 9 months firm, by Albert Dupontel. “In this case, it was about echoing the joie de vivre of a young girl that nothing should stop, at a time when the unimaginable happens. »
To oppose youth at its most beautiful to the worst tragedy in the world. When I had this vision and very specific plans appeared in my mind, I said to myself that I had a real film in mind. And that I had to do it.
Sandrine Kiberlain
Very freely inspired by her own family history – her Jewish grandparents fled Poland – Sandrine Kiberlain, however, insisted on making members of her cinema family French Jews in order to still take a certain distance. From the start, the director made the deliberate choice not to hold any role as an actress.
PHOTO JÉRÔME PRÉBOIS, PROVIDED BY AD VITAM DISTRIBUTION
Anthony Bajon, Rebecca Marder, André Marcon and Françoise Widhoff in A young girl who is well
“This is perhaps what explains the absence of the mother, a character that I could have played, she argues. Of course, I feel this tragedy very strongly within me, but I took a step aside so as not to fall into the intimate history of my own family. Making my characters French Jews also allowed me to evoke the state of mind of these people who felt less quickly threatened than the others. And to recall how France positioned itself at that time. »
A terrible memory
Using the tools of cinema to suggest rather than show, in real directing work, Sandrine Kiberlain very quickly knew how to orchestrate the very strong last shot of her feature film.
“As a teenager, I kept a terrible memory of the Diary of Anne Frank, explains the director, who also wrote the screenplay. At the end of the reading, I remember very well having looked for the page which should have followed, which, obviously, does not exist. I wanted to make the viewer feel the same kind of shock cinematically. We had to find a way to interrupt Irene in full swing, without it being demonstrative. »
PHOTO JÉRÔME PRÉBOIS, PROVIDED BY AD VITAM DISTRIBUTION
Rebecca Marder and India Hair in a scene from the film
The Irene of her story is Rebecca Marder. This actress, nominated for the César for best female hope thanks to her performance, was chosen over a long process during which Sandrine Kiberlain met around thirty young actresses.
“For the film to exist, I had to want to film this girl from behind, from the front, from all sides, for her to have charm and for everyone to want to identify with her. I was frankly afraid of never finding it. Then Rebecca, whom I did not know, arrived and it was immediate. As soon as she entered the room, I said to myself: “This is it. I have it, it’s her!” »
Waiting for a miraculous idea
The experience of the first feature film having been conclusive, Sandrine Kiberlain does not however intend to chain feature films as a director, even if she hopes to be able to return behind the camera.
“I’m thinking about something that’s starting to take shape in my head, but I won’t be one of those directors who make a film every year. You have to wait for the arrival of a miraculous idea that obsesses you to the point of wanting to share it. That this film could be launched at Critics’ Week at the Cannes Film Festival filled me with joy. It told me that my work was taken seriously, and not seen as just an acting whim. It was very important and moving for me. A young girl who is well is one of the most beautiful artistic experiences of my life. »
A young girl who is well is currently showing.