Lunch with La route du sel

An interview with Matthieu Migneau, director of La route du sel

 Can you tell us about the origins of La route du sel?
I grew up in the country along the Loire river and I still live there. It’s a rather magical landscape, sometimes like an African river, sometimes a muddy bayou. As in many rural areas in France, poverty as well as hard drugs have settled here. One day a state policeman who had just arrived from the capital confided in me. He was surprised that it was so easy to find heroin way out in the countryside. So, I got this idea for drug trafficking on the river. Then, as I was writing the scenario, I moved away from that and focused the story on the family or what was left of it.

 There’s little dialogue in La route du sel. Can you explain your choice of using imagery to tell the story and limiting the dialogue?
To be frank, I cut some dialogue during editing. The actors were very good, but I felt that certain dialogues were useless. I could be more effective by filming their actions and their faces.

 The fact that the main character of the film is a woman is interesting because the people involved in trafficking are traditionally men. What motivated you to make this choice?
Indeed, we’re often dealing with young men when it comes to drug trafficking. I did the opposite. Not only in choosing a young woman as the main character, but also the drug dealers who are not young guys from the suburbs in BMWs but two fishermen, and not very scary.

 The significant presence of the Loire is a determining element in the film to the point that it practically becomes a character in the story. Did you decide from the onset to make the river a key part of the film?Yes, from the beginning the Loire played an important part in the story. Each character has a rapport with the river until it becomes their only connection.

 Would you say that the short film format has given you any particular freedom?
Of course, the short format allows artistic alternatives, different attempts, a real freedom and even the possibility to be bad. The short format teaches and forgives.

La route du sel is being shown in the National Competition F8