New Europe sat down with Felix Van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeerrsch through the seventy fifth Cannes Movie Competition discussing about their movie ” Le Otto Montagne “which was awarded with the Jury Prize on Might twenty eighth.

Starred by two Italian extraordinary actors : Alessandro Borghi and Luca Marinelli, the movie is a story of a friendship. Of kids turning into males who attempt to erase the footprints of their fathers, however who, by the twists and turns they take, at all times find yourself returning house. Pietro is a boy from town, Bruno is the final little one of a forgotten mountain village. Through the years Bruno stays devoted to his mountain, whereas Pietro is the one who comes and goes. Their encounters introduce them to like and loss, reminding them of their origins, letting their destinies unfold, as Pietro and Bruno uncover what it means to be true associates for all times.

By Grandesso Federico

New Europe:You had the expertise of creating a global movie out of a preferred e-book. What gave you the thought to make a film in Italy a couple of highly regarded vacation e-book?

Felix Van Groeningen:It’s very tremendous nicely written, it’s very sparse, truly. It’s not thick and it’s epic, just like the film. After making a movie within the US, it wasn’t my ambition to simply make movies there, we by no means actually moved there or something; so we have been truly on the lookout for a undertaking to do in Belgium once more and was engaged on one thing. At a sure time this e-book got here alongside, which we read as a result of we wished to put in writing one thing collectively, truly, we each actually have been moved by the friendship, after all, by these two characters who’re very pure and trustworthy then the journey, that the story unfolds, it‘s easy, but it talks about every little thing that’s important and vital in life just like the household, friendship, love, future and discovering your means in life and so forth.

Charlotte Vandermeersch:That’s the cycle of life and demise, the seasons in nature and in life. So we thought it simply touched upon what I mentioned yesterday proper after the screening, we wished to make an ode to life in all its fragility and power. That is what we felt within the e-book, I believe, as a result of it’s such a giant story informed in tiny little issues, proper? So we thought it was simply very tender and one thing value telling proper now. It has no cynicism in it inside, it’s simply an exploration of what life is then easy methods to be associates, easy methods to take care of loss and with demise and easy methods to love and talk connecting one another to your self and to you.

Felix Van Groeningen:When the e-book was introduced us, the producers had the thought of creating a global film that possibly we might have achieved in English. However for us, it was clear that the e-book was so genuine and so that you felt that it was impressed by actual individuals in actual locations. Very a lot so. Personally, if we do it, it needs to be in Italian. Then we went to satisfy the author of the e-book, who lives very near the place the film takes place, and we fell in love with the landscapes and the environment.

NE:How a lot time did you spend to be taught Italian?

FVG:Yeah, truly I wished to be taught Italian after which we mentioned “possibly we must always simply make a film” (laughing) however however, there’s one thing loopy about this undertaking the place we have been in our life and what we wished simply got here collectively. I imply, we’re on the lookout for deepening and resourcing, and I suppose, being within the mountains and this film assist this course of.

NE:You mentioned that it was very private and really associated to your second. So are you able to elaborate on how have you ever discovered or overcome that?

CV:Nicely, we’ve been collectively now for 15 years, and this undertaking began 3 years in the past, we have been going by some stormy climate in our relationship between us, and we determined we wished to put in writing collectively already. However then the lock-dpersonal got here, and it was identical to everybody else, simply sitting at house at your desk, having a troublesome time, however by engaged on this different life, by exploring the trail of Bruno and Pietro – What do they need? How do they convey it? Which mountains do they climb? What are the difficulties? – What’s the magnificence, by all of this speaking about these lives, we might mirror upon our personal lives, and we might discuss them and never about us instantly, which helps us actually quite a bit. We each cherish the undertaking and we put it there above our personal variations or something which may be between us. So this was actually therapeutic for us to have one thing like this mountain to climb collectively.

FVG:And with this undertaking, the bonding is so robust, and possibly now we have missed that through the years, being away and being busy… Yeah. On completely different mountains. Really, the writing collectively, I spotted that Charlotte introduced a lot to this story from her viewpoint so the mixture of the 2 factors of views, being feminine, male and companions and associates and oldsters, now we have a son who’s 4 years outdated, this actually is sensible for this story to make it richer and on the finish of the writing of the primary draft, I felt that I wished to direct it together with her and I requested her.

NE:How do you insert the Asian ingredient? Since you are Belgians, you moved in Italy and then you definitely put Asia on the highlight?

CV:This concept actually comes from Paolo ( Cognetti) , the author of the e-book, this ingredient of Nepal is current as a result of he has been touring there and he’s an actual mountain individual. So if you wish to go on a mountain, you go to Himalaya proper? It’s essentially the most magnificent place for that and Nepal is simply the mountain nation. So Pietro has misplaced his coronary heart there, however he was not very specific about it in his e-book. So we actually wanted to invent this for the movie. Then there’s no Nepalese love within the e-book as a result of we thought that made sense. If he loses his coronary heart there, it’s to not a European girl working in an orphanage or one thing like that. We thought it made sense to essentially honour the neighborhood and to deliver it by his Nepalese girlfriend then you definitely really feel that he finds a house away from house as a result of she’s house there. Right here first you may have the alps after which we see the Himalaya, It’s actually one other stage. It’s a lot increased. I imply, the village you see within the movie is at 4000 meters, 4200 even. and so they have land there and so they develop greens, it’s wonderful, at that stage, now we have the glaciers in Europe. It’s an outdated mountain civilization, that you simply nonetheless have there in a really authentic state and which is crumbling in Europe. That’s additionally the disappearing outdated world and an outdated world that he finds there, which remains to be alive and in Europe, it’s dying.