An Interview with Marie Losier
By Krishna Purohit

When not overseeing her duties as the film programmer for the French Institute / Alliance Française in New York City, Marie Losier [left] leaves her mark on the indie film scene. With over 14 film credits under her belt, Marie showcased her short Ontological Cowboy at this year’s Whitney Biennial. In a tête à tête with EGO, the film aficionado unravels the complicated world of traditional and contemporary French cinema.

From Jean-Luc Godard to François Ozon, French cinema is a tour de force of endless soul searching, frank sexuality and lengthy dialogues. In spite of Hollywood’s all reaching influence, this surprisingly small and exclusive industry remains true to its independent roots. With a large number of its young filmmakers filtering their way into New York, French cinema is quickly reaching beyond the realm of critics and the festival junkies.

Born in Boulogne, Marie Losier leads a “double life” both as an arbiter of French films at fi:af’s weekly programs and as an independent filmmaker in her own right. Living on both sides of the metaphorical fence, she gives a unique and insightful look into the what makes French cinema tick.

What is the mood of French cinema at the moment?
ML: French cinema has always been a difficult one. The new films, by all these young filmmakers like Ozon, are quite dark. They have a lot of drama with social and political [overtones]. There’s also a huge renewal in police films and thrillers.

Do these films particularly represent any particular part of French society?
ML: Not specifically. There’s a lot of film on youth that reflects what’s happening in France, especially in Paris right now. Then there are some really heavy-duty films, but that goes in the category where France has always made these kinds of intellectual, hard-core dramas. They always reflect the mood of the society.

What differentiates the French industry from rest of Europe and Hollywood?
ML: The subjects. They really don’t mind approaching them. It’s a lot more intimate. They deal with just a few characters, not much action and a lot of personal feeling. They have fewer budgets so they have to deal with a different kind of decor, actor and distribution deal. So right away, it sets up the tone, but they also have a market for the kind of film they make.

What influence has Hollywood and its trademark big budget film had on French cinema?
ML: It always has influenced French cinema, because Hollywood since the beginning of French filmmaking has always been the American Dream. Even Godard in the New Wave, was fascinated by John Sturges and a ton of American filmmakers. They [French filmmakers] take different aspects of it. Some like Luc Besson make French ‘Hollywood’ films with big production, fast editing and certain kinds of actors. It is constantly influenced by that rhythm of Hollywood, but most French films are not big budget productions and have a very different way of treating subjects and stories.

The average American audience is fairly passive about what they see on the big screen and critics often seem to generate generic reviews. How involved are the French with the films they watch?
ML: In American reviews, everything is thumbs-ups. You read the New York Times and everything is great. There’re no real critiques on what films are about. It seems like it always wants to pat its back. It’s always ‘wonderful’ even when it sucks completely. I think in France, even though it’s becoming little bit like that too, there are some really serious magazines that can kill a film, but the audiences are used to that. There’s a whole way of language, reading, and culture about approaching film.

What do you think of US censorship and its approach to foreign films?
ML: It’s really ridiculous, because it’s [American film] super violent. They don’t censor that, but they censor a nipple. It’s a very strange frame of mind. Then at the same time if I show a classic film from the 60s or 70s like Je, Tu Il, Elle, where Chantal Akerman appears naked, nothing else, people get completely offended. They are saying that ‘It’s pornographic’ and that I shouldn’t be showing that it.

Why do you think it is easier for smaller and independent films to make it big in France?
ML: The industry doesn't go with such [large] budgets and it has always been putting out independent films. Usually, films are made with little budgets and there is a ton of documentaries, which never make money. There’s tons of support for films, much more than here.

So when you make your films in New York, do u find it hard to finance them?
ML: Yes, very hard. I make art films, so I do apply for grants, but I pay out of my pocket and I work full time. It’s like a double life.

Apart from the lack of funding, what is it like to be a French filmmaker in New York?
ML: It’s super exciting. I’ve only made films in this country after being here for 12 years, so I know the system. It functions really well with the subjects that I do, like portrait films of American filmmakers or bands. It melts into the culture here and I wouldn’t think of any other place to make them with this subject. I have a place, but I do not have one in France. I don’t know the milieu.

What is makes New York film scene different from Paris?
ML: It’s the freedom. Whoever you want to make a film about, you can just approach them. If the energy is right between you and this person, you can really get into their world and actually make the film. In Paris, it’s very closed. There’s such a hierarchy with not much freedom for the bubbling energy and adventure that can happen in your work. I love the brains of New Yorkers. There’s a lot more positive energy that comes out of it, because it’s so hard to survive here. They have an open eye to life and they work really hard.

Marie Losier’s Top 5:
Hotel du Nord (1938) by Marcel Carné
French Cancan (1954) by Jean Renoir
Breathless (1960) by Jean-Luc Goddard
Adieu Philippine (1962) by Jacques Rozier
When the Sea Rises (2004) by Yolande Moreau and Gilles Porte

Marie Losier's Website: http://marielosier.net/

Images:
Top: Marie Losier
Middle: Scene from When the Sea Rises
Bottom: Jean-Paul Belmondo in Breathless