12/03/2009

"The word “bavardage” [“idle chatter”] contains Varda", said Agnès Varda as she closed the press conference after the screening of The Beaches of Agnès [+see also:
trailer
film profile] at the Bozar in Brussels. As she remarked, few questions were asked, because the director so generously and spontaneously opened up.

She lays claim to "a free coherence, or a vaguely coherent freedom, or even a joyful incoherence" in the act of filmmaking, which she describes as a way of "gently evoking and inviting people to dream, whilst fuelling that touch of frustration that activates the viewer’s imagination". In short, a moment of joy for film enthusiasts, which can be found in Cinergie’s 136th issue.

This month, the webzine also features an interview with Thierry Michel, who continues his exploration of the current situation in Congo in Katanga Business. He believes the film bears witness to “the painful, turbulent and violent birth of an Africa that is re-emerging”.

As a privileged observer, Michel uses his camera to witness a “geopolitical chess game” on a continental scale, a "new form of colonisation, that is no longer political, but economic", and isn’t carried out by one country alone, but by the whole world, which depends on the rich mineral resources of the Katangan subsoil. The film will be released theatrically on April 1.

During a stroll around Brussels, the Malandrin brothers discuss the way they have combined “two desires into one” (one of them wanted to be a photographer, the other a writer). The brothers also talk about the loyalty of actors Cécile de France and Ulrich Tükur, who were committed right from the start to a project that was five years in the making; and the gamble of making risky films that invite viewers to lose themselves in the world of the main character.

Produced by La Parti, their film Hand of the Headless Man [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] will be launched in theatres on June 17.

The March issue also features a report on the shoot of Geoffrey Enthoven’s The Over the Hill Band (co-produced by A Private View and Artémis Productions, set to be released in August 2009). Meanwhile, the regular “film industry profession” section puts the spotlight on sound engineer Philippe Vandendriesche.

(Translated from French)