THE COLOR MAGICIAN

A Portrait of Lucia Pica

I’m very rebellious, not for the sake of it, but when I believe in something I will really defend it.

LP.

Paris, November 2018

Appointed as Chanel’s Global Head of Make-Up and Color Design at the start of 2015, Lucia Pica is a luminous woman. Wearing a black tweed pantsuit with a dark red pussy bow blouse, she looks like she’s just stepped out of a Helmut Newton photograph, circa 1975. With roots in the fiery city of Naples -and a working life divided between Paris and London- you’d expect her to be this intimidating, modern day glamazon, but there’s a sweetness and warmth to her that makes you feel instantly at ease. As she kindly invites me to sit down next to her on the cozy sofa of her spacious office, I can’t help but notice her transparent blue eyes.

Lucia Pica may be connected to women and a rather humble person, she nevertheless has the gaze of the dreamer and the power of the visionary. Listening to Pica talk about make-up and her love of color is quite inspiring, because
you feel her commitment and involvement all the way.

Overseeing hundreds of products each year is a daunting task — especially when you work for one of the most celebrated houses in the world — but she makes it sound all easy and effortless. Whether she talks about her inspiration trips abroad or the smooth texture of an eye shadow, you want to know more about her process and what really makes her tick. In this exclusive interview, Lucia Pica evokes beauty as the embrace of our imperfections and individuality, how make- up can suddenly alter our mood and why being a voyeur comes naturally to her.

Philippe Pourhashemi: You are Italian,
but moved to London in 1998. Why did you choose England?

Lucia Pica: I was born in Naples, but realized I wanted to leave Italy as it felt quite limited. I also wanted to travel and London seemed so appealing to me at the time.

PP: Did you speak English fluently?

LP: I had learned it at school, but didn’t speak it well. I really learned it by living in London.

PP: How did you perceive Chanel as a little girl growing up in Naples?

LP: Chanel is such an iconic brand that
it feels like it’s always been there. It’s an historical House, too, and I remember being obsessed with the Rouge Noir nail polish I wore in the mid-90s. That color attracted so many women and I was only a teenager then, but all my girlfriends wanted that shade and it turned into this fixation. People had to have a pale face and dark lips.

PP: Sounds quite 90s Goth to me.

LP: A little, yes. I wasn’t so aware of Chanel perfumes back then, it’s definitely through beauty that I got to know the brand. In the first collection I did for the House, I created Rouge Audace, which evoked Rouge Noir with slightly more brownish hues.

PP: Red is one of your signature shades.

LP: Definitely. I like all kinds of reds: they could be a bit purple or darker, as long as they are warm.

View fullsize

PP: How do you choose new colors? That process must be quite consuming.

LP: As I design collections for a brand that epitomizes luxury worldwide, I feel it’s important to have depth when it comes to research and inspirations. Every year, I pick a new destination to travel to, although
I often have no clue what I’ll be finding there. I usually take a photographer
I know well with me and we start looking for details that catch our eye. The fact that I have a close relationship with each photographer means that the pictures will be more personal and close to the themes
I want to develop.

PP: Where did you go for the SS/19 collection?

LP: I went to Tokyo and Seoul with Harley Weir and we stayed for 4 days. The goal was to understand the vibrations and special features of each city, while translating their culture into direct references. For instance, people in Asia pay more attention to detail than we do in Europe, and that dedication and care inspired me. They can take something small and make it extraordinary.

PP: I’ve been to Seoul many times and love its energy.

LP: Actually, I felt that energy, too, and wanted to translate it into certain colors
I picked. Harley and I spent 5 hours at the fish market for instance, taking pictures of scales and all kinds of food, anything we found attractive really. It’s a very spontaneous way to work together and there is no preconceived idea of what we’re going to see.

PP: I love the way you have it printed out in a large format later, sharing your own mood board with others.

LP: Exactly. I like the way Harley takes something quite banal to turn it into something more expressive and dramatic. That kind of elevation inspires me, and her pictures are like paintings to me. I like
to be generous and share them with others, so I’m not really protective when it comes to my inspirations. I present the images to my team, and a picture becomes a reference for an eye shadow or a new lipstick.

PP: Do you know already what colors you’re going to have within the collection?

LP: Sometimes it’s quite clear how an image becomes a product. The fish scales became an eye gloss and also made me want to have more luminous effects on the skin. One of my favorite products within the line is Le Baume Essentiel, a clear glossy stick that doesn’t look like make-up. I like the idea of having products that take care of the skin while enhancing features. I used it for the make-up of the beach-inspired ready-to- wear show presented last October.

PP: Do you always art direct the make-up of the shows?

LP: I started with the last Cruise and SS/19 shows and I’ll continue doing these in the future. The great thing about working for Chanel is that we have a lot of creative freedom and also the ability to change our minds during the elaboration of the collections.

View fullsize

PP: How much in advance do you have to design them?

LP: We have to work a year and a half in advance, which is completely different from the rhythm of the fashion collections. Developing a new product takes a very long time for us and we need to plan everything ahead. Being a woman, I also need to bear in mind that each product must be pleasant and comfortable to wear. Luxury is not only what you see on a face, but how products react to your skin.

PP: Are there any restrictions within Chanel make-up?

LP: There is a framework, and sometimes formulas do not work technically, but we have a lot of space to create and experiment. For me Chanel means quality and elegance, you can do anything as long as you respect those parameters.

PP: What does French elegance evoke
for you?

LP: I like the way French women wear sophisticated clothes. There’s an effortlessness to French women that inspires me. It’s not about being constructed at all and perhaps an Italian woman likes to look more “done”. The same goes for Americans. Still, I find Italians more expressive, whereas English women like being more unconventional.

PP: You’ve once described Gabrielle Chanel as a “punk”. How do you challenge boundaries within your own field?

LP: I’m very rebellious, not for the sake of it, but when I believe in something I will really defend it. I love bold colors because they allow you to express your personality, but I try to create a palette that expresses strength and softness at the same time.
I’d like women to be more playful with make- up and mix different textures to invent something that suits them. I don’t want to direct them too much and make-up should always be a moment of pleasure for women.

PP: How do you know that a color is going to be a hit?

LP: I couldn’t explain it (she laughs). I hope I feel it from within, but it’s completely instinctive for me and I have no idea where it comes from. I also enjoy starting with an idea and changing it completely afterwards. Again, it’s very hard to explain that kind of creative impulse.

PP: Do you observe people around you a lot?

LP: Definitely. My job is to be a voyeur and to look at women, as well as enjoy any kind of cultural expression, such as art, movies or exhibitions. I have a group of friends around me that I find really inspiring, which means I am connected to the reality of women’s lives.

PP: What is ‘bad make-up’ in your opinion?

LP: Bad make-up is erasing yourself to try to look like someone else. I have no interest in make-up rules that are dictated to women, mainly through social media.

PP: How do you define ‘bad taste’?

LP: For me, there is a very thin line between an elegant red and a trashy one. Trashy can be good sometimes, it really depends.

PP: You’re not into pink that much, are you?

LP: No, I like pink, but it’s not a color that I’d wear myself. I created pinks before, because I wanted this Pop Art feeling, but I don’t like girly pink. I prefer confrontational pink.

PP: Having worked here for 4 years now, what is the key difference between Chanel and other houses?

LP: Well, I have never worked as a creative director for other houses before, but Chanel really supports creativity and quality is a leitmotiv. We do carry out extended tests to products in-house that I know other brands won’t do. We really take the time to develop ranges and then you have the Chanel stamp on them, from the look of the packaging to the feel of a texture.

PP: How did you end up working here? Were you “chosen”?

LP: I was actually. I had been doing lots of editorials and was asked to do a beauty campaign after Peter Philips left. I think they were trying out different people to see who would do the campaigns, and eventually I did all of them. At the same time, they were looking for a new creative designer and I had a few interviews before I was offered the position.

PP: You have an impressive portfolio of collaborations with photographers, from established to more avant-garde names.

LP: Yes. It prepared me for the job now, because I was always experimenting with color and texture. Passion helps, obviously. After 4 years, I feel quite settled here even though it all went so fast. I feel quite happy about certain things I have achieved so far and there’s definitely a close understanding with the team here.

PP: Do you still do editorials?

LP: Yes, but a little bit less. I still love doing them.

PP: Is there any photographer you feel specially connected to?

LP: It’s always been nice working with people like Alasdair McLellan, Willy Vanderperre, Mario Testino or Juergen Teller. Some people I almost grew up with, but I have been lucky enough that I’ve worked with people whose aesthetics appealed to me,
so I could really give them something that they liked in return.

PP: Do you feel with social media that make-up tends to become louder and more in your face?

LP: It’s a very fine line. There are so many ‘make-up experts’ now that it becomes confusing at times. There is also this idea of conforming to certain trends, which I’m really not crazy about. I like to see individuality around me and on Instagram there’s this make-up overload going on. It has gone too far, especially when I look at posts of women with crazy contoured marks, almost tattooing their eyebrows. They look pretty scary.

PP: As a Frenchman, Chanel symbolizes for me a certain bourgeois taste that relies on very specific codes. How do you see that?

LP: There is this kind of bourgeois and opulent dimension, but there are also daring and courageous elements within that. Rouge Noir was for instance a really daring statement and that’s really out of the box.

View fullsize

PP: Would you like to design iconic products like Rouge Noir? Is that a dream of yours?

LP: Definitely (she laughs). I wish I’d done it. The red eye shadow palette I did within my first collection reached out to quite a lot of women and that’s been a successful and trend-setting kind of product.
I remember seeing people on the street wearing red eye make-up at the time quite easily and I wondered if it had anything to do with that.

PP: Do people sometimes approach you telling you how the make-up you created affected them in a positive way?

LP: Sometimes, yes. If you try new products on people, they can get quite fascinated with them.

PP: Is make-up empowering for women?

LP: Definitely. I see make-up as one of those tools for women to easily fix something and alter their moods. Keira Knightley once told me that she puts red lipstick on when she feels a bit down and even Mademoiselle Chanel told women to put their lipstick on and attack, like an armor in a way.

PP: Do you have a routine for your own make-up?

LP: I use lipstick, La Palette and Les Baumes every day, as well as matte eye shadow and mascara. I don’t try all the products on myself though.

PP: I really like what you’re wearing.

LP: It’s Chanel.

PP: Of course it is. Which pieces do you usually pick?

LP: I tend to go towards the more tailored garments. I like the 1960s and 1970s mixed with the 1990s so it ends up looking a bit retro on me. I also love wearing mini skirts or dresses with fitted jackets. I quite like to wear Chanel head-to-toe. Maybe I’d wear this suit with trainers.

PP: Do you still feel like an Italian in London?

LP: My English friends always tell me I’m very Italian.

PP: Do you go back and forth between Paris and London?

LP: Yes, my home is in London, but I have an apartment here, in the Saint-Germain- des-Pres neighborhood. I actually love the contrast between the two cities. I’m enjoying Paris quite a lot, because it’s easy to walk around and it’s so beautiful. London is more hectic and it’s hard to do these things. London feels more abrupt than Paris to me, and there’s a charm here you don’t find anywhere else. Paris lies exactly between London and where I come from culturally, quite a nice compromise.

PP: Are you learning French?

LP: I am trying to learn it. I do understand a lot, but I use English for work, especially here. In a way I can separate my work language from my mother tongue, which is a useful thing for me.

PP: There’s a tradition of foreigners working for the House, such as Heidi Moravetz or Peter Philips. Karl Lagerfeld is German, too, although he has lived in Paris for several decades. Do you think this outsider point of view is more interesting?

LP: I guess so, but Chanel style is not exclusively French. Of course, there is a certain Frenchness at play, but I see more of a Chanel idea with a woman who is international, both sophisticated and strong.

---

Archive from our Issue 6 SS19

…

Interview by Philippe Pourhashemi

Lucia Pica’s portrait courtesy of Chanel

Photography by Martina Bjorn

Featuring Sara Dijkink at Women Management

Make-Up by Sofie Van Bouwel for Chanel at Touch by Dominique Models

Set design by Christo Nogues

Casting by Mitch Macken at MM Casting

Production by Michael Marson

Photographer’s assistant Louis Philippe Beauduin

Production’s assistant Thomas Cleda

Special thanks to Initials LA

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!

---

Archive from our Issue 5 FW18

…

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

…

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.

View fullsize

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.

---

Archive from our Issue 6 SS19

…

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

…