American actor John Malkovich at the Angoulême Francophone Film Festival, in the presence of François Hollande and Laura Smet on August 22, 2017.
Celine Levain Archives
Where does your francophone culture come from? Literature, cinema, theater?
A little of all that, I think. It obviously started with literature, with my interest in people like Marcel Camus. And then, I worked a lot in France. There are American or British films shot here, such as “Dangerous Liaisons”. There were also the films and plays I produced in France, even if the last one, an adaptation of “Dangerous Liaisons” at the Théâtre de l’Atelier, dates from a few years ago…
What prompted you to accept the presidency of the FFA jury?
I have a partnership with the watchmaker Richard Mille who is also a sponsor of the festival. Richard Mille told me a lot of good things about this festival… Dominique Besnehard is someone I really appreciate. Common acquaintances, Marie-Laure Munich, who is an agent in France, and Jean-Marc Ghanassia, who co-produces my plays in France, also praised the quality of this festival. Normally, I’m too busy for this kind of exercise. But this year, I had an opportunity for this week. And I accepted. I have a feeling it’s going to be an interesting week. This presidency, I see it as a rather rare opportunity since the last time I chaired a jury dates back to 2010, in Marrakech… You know, when I go to a festival like Cannes, Toronto or Venice, I have to do promoting my project and I have absolutely no time to look at other people’s projects, to discuss cinema with people in the business. At least when you’re on the jury you have time to watch movies. I guarantee you that I will enjoy it.
Presiding over a jury is still a responsibility. What must a film have to seduce you?
It must have some originality. He shouldn’t just refer to other people’s cinema, he shouldn’t focus only on the visual aspect. Clearly, a good film must have a soul, even if it is a comedy. From there, I have no preconceived rules… Maybe it’s better that a film touches my heart. Still, there are some very good films that, for one reason or another, don’t touch you deeply. I am thinking, for example, for me, of a film like “Animal Kingdom” by the Australian David Michôd. I wasn’t necessarily affected by the film, but the director’s way of filming, the actors’ way of playing made me adore it. Without this intellectual cohesion, magic works less well…
You have known directors from all walks of life. Is French-speaking cinema distinguished by a particular specificity?
Honestly no. Cinema is a global and universal language. When we see a film “The Hunt”, this film by Thomas Vinterberg in which Mads Mikkelsen plays a teacher caught in the spiral of pedophile rumors, we are all affected in the same way, even if the actors speak Swedish. After all, subtitles are there for that, right?
What guides you when choosing a project?
Lots of things, actually. In my career, I’ve read very good screenplays which, in the end, didn’t bring much to the screen. On the contrary, I was able to read very average scenarios which one wonders how they gave such good films. The script is just a plan. If you focus most of your hopes on reading it, you risk running into a lot of illusions. The risk of choice is part of the job. And there are filmmakers for whom I don’t even feel the need to read the scripts. This was the case of Raoul Ruiz or Manoel de Oliveira…
Could you name any others?
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John Malkovich at Angoulême in 2017: “A good film must have a soul”