PLEASURES OF PARADOX

An intimate talk with Isabelle Huppert

Paris, June 2018

Few actors manage to wow critics and audiences alike, owning the screen -or the stage- with their incredible presence.

Throughout her stellar career, Isabelle Huppert has embodied complex, ambivalent and intriguing women, pushing herself to the limit with every new role. Her love of risk and fearlessness when choosing roles is legendary, going where only a few would dare to go.

It seems that Huppert wants to fully explore the psyche of the characters she plays, with authenticity, flair and clinical precision. Often referred to as a “cerebral” actress, Huppert approaches the art of filmmaking through all its facets, describing cinema as a uniquely rewarding and existential experience.

She speaks fondly of directors, costumes, scripts and previous parts, which are very much alive in her mind. This willingness to go all the way and lose herself in her performances still amazes viewers, wondering where she’s going to go next.

Huppert answers questions fast and in a straightforward way, but she sometimes contradicts herself, going back to her original train of thought and adding new elements. In many ways, she refuses to be pinned down or defined as a woman, and she appears fiercely protective.

Despite being known and loved internationally as an actress, the woman remains a mystery figure. In this exclusive interview, she discusses her relationship to the fashion world, posing for famous photographers, Alfred Hitchcock’s thoughts on films and why she doesn’t see herself as a passionate actress.

Philippe Pourhashemi: How would you describe your relation to fashion?

Isabelle Huppert: I’d say it’s a good one. I’m interested in fashion and clothes. Actually, it’s more entertaining for me than an actual interest. I see fashion as something pleasurable. When you see clothes in a show, it’s not something you’d necessarily wear yourself, but they give away hints about the Zeitgeist. You don’t understand why there are certain trends that you see from one designer to another, but fashion tells the story of our times. And I think there is a lot of creativity and invention within fashion.

PP: When you play a part, how do you approach the wardrobe of a character?

IH: It has nothing to do with fashion in this case, but it’s always the first clue you give to the viewer. Costume is essential and nothing is innocent when it comes to the garments you see on screen. Clothes allow you to say something relevant about the character, either in a subtle or more blatant way.

PP: Do you find yourself creating a look for that character?

IH: Yes, of course. I normally work on this with the costume designer and there are directors who are more or less involved in that process.

PP: If we take The Piano Teacher for instance, your character has a very specific style. Did you construct it with Michael Haneke?

IH: No, I worked with Annette Beaufays, who is an amazing Austrian costume designer. In Italy and in Germany, there are also very talented ones, who really understand what it takes to create a character. In The Piano Teacher, there was austerity, and we also had to think about her walk. Would she wear flats or heels?
It ended up being flats for her as she was walking all the time and had to be fast.

PP: At the same time, there were key pieces in the movie, such as her cotton trench- coat, printed silk scarf or dowdy ecru blouse. When approaching such a complex part, what is your process as an actress?

IH: I don’t think you can dissociate this from the encounter you have with the director. In that case, it was Michael Haneke, who is an accomplished filmmaker. I trusted him. I didn’t have any preconceived notions about the part and no expectations either.

PP: What attracted you to her?

IH: Being able to work with him was the trigger. He had already directed a few films that felt significant, and that was the main motivation for me. What I also liked about her was that she was an aggressive, yet terribly vulnerable woman. That kind of contradiction is what you try to bring to the fore.

PP: Do you like these tortured characters?

IH: Yes, because they are major characters. They are exaggerated figures – and you couldn’t necessarily relate them to real life – but such characters deal with central themes, such as desire, sexuality, family and feelings. There’s endless richness in that sense.

PP: Bertolt Brecht applied the “Verfremdungseffekt” to theater, also known as distancing effect. We watch characters, but do not identify or sympathize with them. Would you say this applies to some of your films?

IH: Yes, but it’s not always as clear cut as that.

PP: In Elle for instance, the character you play is not warm or likable. You don’t really want to identify with her.

IH: I disagree. I think you can identify with her and what she’s going through. If we’re talking about Brecht’s distancing effect here, I understand it more as the necessary space you need to create in order to let the viewer make up his or her own mind about the movie. You don’t want to trap the audience with emotion and confuse their reading of the story. I think the distance creates a form of realism that takes us away from more traditional fiction.

PP: At the same time, there’s an uncomfortable feeling in several of your films. I remember watching The Piano Teacher the first time and feeling suffocated by it until your character stabs herself, which acted as a release.

IH: No one ever said that life was comfortable.

PP: But you like that notion of discomfort, don’t you?

IH: It’s not that I like or dislike it, but I accept it as being part of the truth of life.

PP: This issue also profiles designer Marine Serre, who told me she loved the way you wore her clothes.

IH: Yes, I wore quite a few of her pieces for a feature in Dazed and really liked them. I’m not that familiar with young designers though, but her clothes are great.

PP: You’re also known for working with young directors.

IH: Yes, I am quite open that way and have no prejudices.

PP: How did the shoot go for this issue?

IH: It went quite well. The photographer was talented and I enjoyed myself.

Shooting a film is a long and emotional process, whereas posing for a photographer is a short-term experience, even if the shoot spreads over several days.

IH.

PP: What’s the difference between posing for a photographer and shooting a film? You seem to enjoy both.

IH: You cannot compare them at all as they have nothing to do with each other. Shooting a film is a long and emotional process, whereas posing for a photographer is a short-term experience, even if the shoot spreads over several days. I like working with photographers though and was lucky to pose for some of the greatest names, such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Helmut Newton or Peter Lindbergh. These are amazing encounters with artists who managed to create their own world and vision within the narrow codes of fashion photography. Photographers like Newton or Lindbergh challenged its boundaries to create something original.

PP: How do you act during a fashion shoot? Do you spontaneously offer something
to the photographer or are you mainly directed?

IH: It’s a bit of both. You’re not really aware of what you’re doing. It’s more about how you feel: are you comfortable or not, is it pleasurable or not? Then you check the images and decide for yourself. The result is what matters.

PP: Did you also get that pleasure from every film you have made until now?

IH: Yes, I have. It’s better that way.

PP: It’s hard to keep track of all the films you’re in.

IH: I did play in many, and I intend to continue in the future.

PP: What would you do if you were not an actress?

IH: I have no idea, but I am sure I’d be able to move on somehow.

PP: Talking about truth and authenticity, is what you bring in a film as genuine
as reality itself ?

IH: It’s not as true as reality is, because it’s a movie. It is elaboration first of all, a metaphor of life. A film is not a documentary, but a work of fiction, which extrapolates on reality and the notion of truth. Even a photograph, which may seem more accurate or reliable, is a representation of what reality is.

Cinema is constant

re-creation

; you say words that you never used before and enter bodies that were previously unknown.

IH.

PP: With your experience, does the way you use your body in front of the camera become second nature?

IH: It’s always been that way for me. Cinema by definition is unprecedented, recreating that first time experience with every new scene. I see it as an existential ride, especially when you’re confronted with people you’ve never met or worked with before. Cinema is constant re-creation; you say words that you never used before and enter bodies that were previously unknown. It’s unexpected, every single time.

PP: Do you watch yourself on screen?

IH: Less than before. At the beginning of my career, I’d watch the dailies every day. I don’t look at myself on screen that much, except when the film is over of course.

PP: Are you your worst critic?

IH: I do measure my performances, but the moments I like less are not necessarily related to my acting. A film has a life of its own; you’re not the only element as an actor, but part of a larger process. You have to watch it as a whole.

PP: And how do you know you can trust a director?

IH: Pure intuition. That’s one of the gifts you get from life. Of course, it’s not the same if you already know the director and his or her work, but in the case of a first film, it’s just instincts. And a good script. Cinema is always a collective effort.

PP: Do you intervene on the script itself ?

IH: Yes, it happens. You can always make it better or more accurate. If you realize most of the script has to be reworked, then it’s better not to go there.

PP: The theme of our issue is “Borderline” and many of your parts embody that notion, particularly Paul Verhoeven’s Elle. Why is ambiguity so interesting?

IH: I’ve been reading some of Alfred Hitchcock’s texts lately and he talks about how films should create jolts in the audience and I like that notion. This relates to Paul Verhoeven’s films as well. The viewer goes to the movies for this, and cinema brings that aspect, too.

PP: Are you a committed and passionate actress?

IH: These two words do not resonate with me. Committed? In my own way.

PP: And passionate?

IH: Let’s just say that I like what I do. Let’s even say that I love it!

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Archive from our Issue 5 FW18

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Interview by Philippe Pourhashemi

Photography by Łukasz Pukowiec

Fashion by Jonathan Huguet

Hair by Alexandry Costa at Artlist

Make-Up by Anthony Preel at Artlist

Production and casting by Anna Rybus with Prospero Production

Set design by Christian Feltham

Retouching by Paul Drozdowski

Stylist’s assistants Marie Soares and Léa Mai Ngo Hong

Jonathan Huguet is represented by Artlist

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ROLE-BREAKING BEAUTY

An intimate talk with Lukas Dhont & Victor Polster

Brussels, October 2018

When young Belgian director Lukas Dhont launched his first full-length movie, he never dared to dream it would leave such an impact.

The first-ever screening of Girl,
his film about the transgender ballet dancer Lara, at Cannes film festival caused a deafening applause, great emotions and many awards, a list that is growing bigger every day.

We met with Lukas and his leading actor, the sixteen-year-old ballet dancer Victor Polster, for an intimate talk on acting, identity and the world of cinema today.

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Laura Bonne: How did you know Victor was the right person to play the role of Lara?

Lukas Dhont: The casting was a difficult process. The actor we needed had to be
able not only to act in a way that is elegant and complex, but to dance at a very high level as well. All these elements created an impossible mix of features. We casted for half a year and saw 500 adolescents: trans girls, boys, girls... but we still didn’t find the right profile. Only when choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui joined the project, more dancers who reached the required level showed themselves interested. One of them was Victor, who was then 14 years old. I vividly remember the first time I saw him. He was part of one of the dance casting groups, and the moment he entered, me and the whole team instantly took notice of him. He had something magnetic, something angelic. When he started dancing, I knew he was unique and very close to the role. I kept his picture as my desktop background for a week. The feeling I had stayed, and I knew it had to be him.

LB: Did you immediately want to play that main part, Victor?

Victor Polster: I obviously hadn’t thought about it. I just came there because working with Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui seemed like a great opportunity. Acting appealed to me, but I was afraid to injure myself and not to be able to dance anymore.

LD: Victor is used to train as a boy; only girls do pointe work. To be able to dance as Lara, Victor trained for three months, ten hours a week. Next to that, all dance scenes were shot during the first six shooting days, which made it extra intense for Victor.
The biggest challenge was: how do we make sure he can do all dance scenes himself, without getting injured?

I vividly remembe

r the first time I saw Victor. He had something magnetic, something angelic.

LD.

LB: Victor, how was it to make mistakes deliberately?

VP: I didn’t want to do it, because I wanted to look good as a dancer.

LD: Yet, it wasn’t about dancing good or bad in the movie. It was about something dramatic. When I asked Victor to fall while dancing, he just wouldn’t do it. [laughs]

LB: How did you support Victor during his first acting performances?

LD: As a film director, I’m responsible for the actors to perform as good as possible. Arieh Worthalter, who plays the role of the father, is an actor who relies upon his technique. Victor is a dancer, who has an enormous expression and way of communicating through his body, but he doesn’t have the technique to evoke emotions for ten takes long. Both of them require another way of directing. With Victor, I evoked these emotions by putting him in situations that felt real to him. A good example is the birthday party scene, where the girls push Lara to her limit. It was a very intense, confronting moment to play for Victor. We had talked about it before, but hadn’t rehearsed it and I chose to film it the first time we did the scene. It was a hard moment for Victor, but an easier moment for him as an actor.

VP: I felt all those things for real at that moment. But it was necessary, because
I wouldn’t have been able to reach those emotions at that moment.

Playing it was intense, but I didn’t necessarily take those emotions home.

VP.

LB: Victor, Girl was shot when you were between 14 and 16 years old. How do you deal with playing and feeling such strong emotions at such a young age?

VP: Playing it was intense, but I didn’t necessarily take those emotions home.

LD: Although we went for strong emotions, we made sure we could leave them before going home. After the birthday party scene, we took our time to process all of it. There can be lots of tension, but to discharge after playing a scene is at least as important. Next to that, Victor is very mature for his age. He and the other dancers are training for a high-level dancing career from a very young age, which makes them extremely disciplined and very professional.

LB: The idea for Girl came from the story of a real transgender woman, Nora Monsecour. What made her story so inspiring for you, Lukas?

LD: The moment when the story came to me was very important. I was 18 and found myself in this dilemma of being myself versus fitting in. I read an article about Nora, a girl who wanted to be a ballet dancer, but she was born in a boy’s body. I admired her, because she was someone who radically chose to be herself, something I couldn’t do at that time. Soon after, everything seemed to fall into place: a young, fifteen-year-old trans girl who’s trying to find her spot in the binary ballet world of boys versus girls. It was the perfect metaphor, a cinematic idea.

LB: I can imagine the success of the movie transcends all expectations.

LD: I was so afraid. I’ve known that I wanted to make movies since I was little, so I’ve been following the film festival of Cannes for quite some time as well. It’s a festival that can be very loving, but it can be the opposite as well: it can break a movie in two. When I got that call from them, I felt happy and scared at the same time. We just finished editing, and Girl was to be screened for the first time in front of an audience in Cannes. When it was over, I closed my eyes and just listened what was going to happen. There were two possibilities: the audience would either love it, or hate it. It was such a vulnerable moment for me. I had never expected to get such a positive response. It was very, very emotional.

LB: Did the movie make you into an example for the LGBT community, Victor?

VP: I get a lot of responses through social media, and most of them are very positive. It gives me a lot of energy to hear that people are touched by the story.

LB: What is more important: social critique or an intimate story?

LD: For me, Girl is the portrait of a young transgender girl, a portrait of adolescence. It’s a portrait of identity as well, of looking for the most honest version of yourself. But the arena of that story is very considered: we’ve put that girl in the environment of a ballet school, which is a very gender specific system. That’s a critique, because the pressure it entails is very hard for Lara. That given became a tool and a metaphor. It’s not only about ballet, it’s about a whole system where a lot of people are being excluded, only because they cannot relate to that system. Divisions are very radical in our world, which does not fit for everyone. In that way, Girl is a critical movie, without wanting to be too much in your face.

For me, Girl is the portrait of a young transgender girl, a portrait of adolescence. It’s a portrait of identity as well, of looking for the most honest version of yourself.

LD.

LB: Do you think there would be a place for Lara in the real world?

VP: I think it would be as hard as it is in the movie. Nora had a lot of trouble in ballet school, because the school and the parents of her fellow students wouldn’t let her dance with the girls. They wanted her to stay with the boys. That’s the reason she quit ballet and built a career in modern dance.

LD: The original story is of an unbelievable inhumanity, but we deliberately chose not to show that side. It would create too much of a heroine versus the evil outside world situation, whereby the focus would shift from Lara to the outside world. In any case, I think the ballet world is still a very complex, binary and deep-rooted classical system.

LB: Are other scenes based on Nora’s story?

LD: A lot of them are. Next to the fact that we took away the school conflict, the movie “is” Nora. The way she used to look at her body, the relationship with her dad: a lot of it comes from Nora. The way she developed from the time I met her until now is unbelievable. She used to not want anyone to know that this story is based on her, but she managed to accept it and let people know it is hers.

LB: Girl is coming out on Netflix in the U.S. How do you look at cinema today?

LD: It’s a very double perspective. I’m very aware of what film means to me and I believe that what we bring has to be shown on big screen. I believe strongly in the physical, sensory and auditory experience of cinema. I also think we have to stimulate younger generations to continue to go to cinema. In that way, Netflix is no good news. But on the other hand, let’s not be naïve and ignore that young people want to absorb and consume constantly, also through smaller screens. Netflix is also the reason why Girl might reach people who would never have gone to the cinema to watch it. Where we should go for, is a world where both exist simultaneously: Netflix that doesn’t prevent movies from being screened in cinema, and a cinema experience that is shared with other screens.

LB: A lot of directors say that it’s hard to get budgets these days, while Netflix is known for its carte blanche system. Do you think Netflix can play an emancipating role in the audiovisual landscape of today?

LD: That is exactly the reason why I think Netflix is only going to grow. The American studio system is still very hierarchic: they have the final cut, they make the rules. Netflix has the budgets to give carte blanche. That is why important directors are moving to Netflix and their movies become Netflix Originals. And if Netflix is going to win Oscars — and I’m kind of sure that they will — it will have been proven that it is possible to make high category movies in a new way.

LB: What is for you the most meaningful moment in the movie?

LD: There’s this scene where Lara and her father have an intimate conversation at night. They are lying in bed and talk about time: how one must try to be in the present instead of trying to accelerate everything, whereas that is exactly what a teenager would want to do sometimes. My favourite line is this one: “I don’t want to be an example, I just want to be a girl”.

LB: Which lessons do you take with you to your next movie?

LD: To embrace the things you don’t know and be eager to find them out.

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Archive from our Issue 6 SS19

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Interview by Laura Bonne

Photography by Nagib Chtaïb

Fashion by Michaël Marson

Set design by Justine Verplanke

Hair by Ed Moeland at Artist Unit

Make-Up by Jenneke Croubels

Production by Michaël Marson

Production assistant Xavier Bourgeois

Photographer’s assistant Samir Dari

All clothes BERLUTI by Kris Van Assche

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BMX REVOLUTIONS

AUSTIN AUGIE VLOGS THE RIDE

New York, May 2018 

The world is a bore unless it becomes your playground. How? US BMX rider, rising super-star and model, Austin Augie fuses his BMX skills with video-blogging. It’s a contagious blast. 

Rémy Russotto: I heard you like your cameras. What was your first camera? Do you still
use it?


Austin Augie: I am a big fan of cameras. I love that I can turn it on and instantly capture memories. My first camera was a Canon t3i,
a really cheap one. I used it for about a year until I got too stoned one day and left it on top of a car and found it a couple of moments later shattered on the ground! I have since upgraded to the Panasonic gh5. 

RR: For some strange reason something
about what you do reminds me of Seinfeld,
in a good way (I love Seinfeld). Maybe it’s the vlogging (video-blogging) about your life. Does that make sense to you?

There is something about making a city your playground.

AA.

AA: HAHA! I love Seinfeld. Fun fact: I was at this party and Jerry was there but I was to shy to say anything to him. But his wife took a selfie with me! I totally agree though: Seinfeld was unpredictable; you really didn’t know what was going to happen from one episode
to the next. Much like the stories of my life. 

RR: When did you start riding? What was your first bike, its color?


AA: I started riding about 11 years ago when
I was in middle school. My first bike was a Haro backtrail. My aunt used to do these big garage sells and I remember getting rid of my Xbox so I could get that bike. I think it was red. 

RR: Do you need a public to ride?


AA: When it comes down to it, I would much rather ride with my pals than alone.
There is this certain energy you get when you ride around the city with your friends. Nothing else matters at that point, you just kind of forget about all the problems you have and just have fun. That’s honestly the best part of riding. 

RR: Is riding a way to merge yourself into
a city, an environment, a staircase? To make the city yours?


AA: Riding for me is an escape. When I was growing up, I lived in really rural areas and
my favorite thing to do would be to head to the neighboring city and just ride around. There is something about making a city your playground. It is a good way to merge yourself into a city. 

RR: When does a city become boring to you? 

AA: Any place can become boring if you are there long enough, even New York. I tend
to get bored when I have nothing going on. When you wake up and have nothing to do, that’s always a good time for me to travel. I hate the feeling of doing nothing. 

Any place can become boring if you are there long enough, even New York.

AA.

RR: What would you never vlog about ?

AA: When I first started the YouTube channel, nothing was off the table. It was pretty much The Truman Show; I just wanted to share my story with an audience. After about a year
it takes a toll on you. I have learned what
to share and what not to share. For example I was in a relationship for a better part of a year and that was something I didn’t want to share. Some things need to be kept private. 

RR: Speed counts, but is riding about being fast enough that everything starts slowing down and you start seeing things in slow- motion. The faster you go and the more control you have the slower things appear to be? And that’s the zone you try to penetrate? 

AA: You would be surprised how slow we actually go to get the trick. If I am doing something scary, where I could really get hurt, I tend to only think of doing that one thing. It’s very therapeutic. When I’m about to go for the trick, everything stops. Literally. I almost black out for a split second and then you land, feeling overwhelmed. 

RR: You need style to ride. What’s your style?

AA: Style; a huge part of the BMX scene. You could be one of the best riders in the world, but if you have no style no one really cares. I would say my style is very loose, just trying not to look “crunchy”. (...) 

RR: What’s your next big plan?

AA: I’m going to San Francisco at the end of the month to do a review on this new electric moped. But big picture: I really want to get into acting and progress with my career. 

RR: How’s the fashion world to you?

AA: I’m somewhat new to fashion. It’s really weird, but cool. If you can get past all the egos. I have met a ton of great people, some have become my friends. 

RR: Any good dreams recently or nightmares?

AA: It’s crazy you ask that. Lately I have been having an unexplainable amount of dreams. Last night I dreamt I was somewhere in the desert with my puppy chasing something. I can’t really remember what we were chasing, but I remember seeing the pyramids in the distance. I assume we were in Egypt, maybe chasing camels. Also I have one nightmare in particular; I’m in this room and this guy is just walking around me screaming, and each time he would scream his face would change. 

RR: Do you believe in ghosts?

AA: Yes, I do. 

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RR: What’s the name of your first love?

AA: I have only been in love once, and
it was recent. Getting over your first love
is probably the hardest thing I have ever had to do. Her name was Jessica. We haven’t been together for three months now, and
I still think about her everyday. 

RR: Are you in love?

AA: Love; love is fucking crazy. To answer the question: no I’m not in love right now with an individual, but I am in love with life and in love with the adventure, with trying to achieve my dreams. 

RR: Do you surf?

AA: I am a huge fan of surfing. I have tried
it a couple times; have yet to catch a wave though! I would love to get into it this summer though. You would be surprised; New York has a pretty big surf scene. 

RR: Do you enjoy Jackson Pollock’s drip paintings?

AA: Jackson Pollock’s paintings, I wouldn’t say I enjoy them. But I feel like I relate to them; much like my life, they are crazy and unpredictable. 

RR: What are you wearing now?

AA: Well it’s about 8 in the morning and I’m still in bed writing this. I’m wearing some cotton pants I got from Thailand (they are super airy and are good to sleep in) and that’s it.

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Archive from our Issue 5 FW18

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Words by Rémy Russotto

Photography by Ricardo Gomes

Production by Michaël Marson

All clothes CALVIN KLEIN JEANS

Austin Augie is represented by IMG Models

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