Interview with Abbas Taheri and Mahdieh Toosi, co-directors of Aban What has inspired Aban’s character?Abbas: My cousin struggled to get his real gender by surgery in a patriarchal family. His childish insist on getting called by a male name, instead of his female birthname while he was four, were soon transformed to gender identity disorder and his brave efforts inspired me to work on […]
Interview with Alexis Pazoumian, director of Bellus What did you want to explore through the relationship between Michel and Santos in the film?Bellus follows Michel’s inner and spiritual journey. The film tells the story from the perspective of the young man. It is not a story of conversion, but of a winding path toward a form of redemption. Evangelical religion plays a very […]
Interview with Tonia Mishiali, director of Daphne Can you tell us about Daphne, the main character, and what led you to write her story?Daphne is a single mum. She has hardly any communication with her socially awkward son, who has been consumed by technology, and she is struggling with that. She works from home due to the pandemic restrictive measures, so she has […]
Interview with Arthur Thomas–Pavlowsky, director of La Lutte est une fin [The Struggle Is the End] Your film talks about boxing as a legitimate outlet for countering injustice and discrimination. What led you to make a documentary on the subject?As a participant in the Nuit Debout movement against the labor laws, and later protesting in Calais, I was a victim of police brutality. […]
Interview with Amartei Amar, director of TsutsuƐ What was the starting point of TsutsuƐ?TsutsuƐ was born through three spiritually interwoven true stories. The first was from an experience our Producer had when a neighbourhood boy discovered a dead body in an open sewer. As he went to tell others, it rained a great thunderstorm. By the time he managed to get everyone to […]
Interview with Pedro Díaz, director of La Entrega [The Hand Over] La Entrega deals with loneliness and trauma. What is it that draws you to such topics?The thing that interests me the most is that these are themes hidden inside each of us. These are emotions we usually try to hide, that usually we have thought are signs of weakness. I am very interested in […]
Interview with Vokos, director of Takanakuy What was the starting point of Takanakuy? Takanakuy is a Peruvian province tradition in which differences are resolved through violence. For the community, the ritual represents a catharsis. The film represents the same for me: it is a narrative in which I was able to reframe questions about the concept of masculinity that I have carried since […]
Interview with Hekuran Isufi, director of I Kemi Varros Baballarët I Kemi Varros Baballarët deals with Dardan’s return from France to Kosovo to visit his father’s grave. What were you interested in exploring with a film that talks about exile and mourning? The film talks about a country that’s still marked by its past, by war – by the past that still weighs down […]
Interview with Maïté Sonnet, director of Des jeunes filles enterrent leur vie [Bachelorette Party] After Massacre, you’ve made Des jeunes filles enterrent leur vie which is more of a comedy. What was the starting point for this film?Actually, and bizarrely, I never thought I’d write a comedy more than anything else. Humor almost comes by itself, without my intending it, or else it comes through […]