Audiences too often don't have the ability to see provocative films for what they are. When asked about the state of cinema, she wouldn't sugarcoat, noting the future comes down to our capacity to adapt. Ultimately, she sees her films as quite optimistic, as her characters become aware of their freedom. (Yes, this is a half-metal baby conceived after engaging in sexual congress with an automobile, but still.) In order to show someone becoming human, she had to start with someone very inhuman. By the end of the film, we see her becoming human, giving birth to the next evolution in humanity. In Titane, the main character's contours are spilling out onto the world. She's interested in the contours of our own bodies. To Ducournau, the ideas she's exploring go beyond dropped jaws. "I obviously don't care for shock value at all." Anyone who has sat through Titane or her previous film, Raw, will have to sit with this statement for a while. And while the directorial students were top dogs on campus, the screenwriters were the nerds, and she appreciated the perspective that gave her. When the artist has a strong idea of what she wants to convey, criticism isn't deflating but a way to make the work better. Conversely, writing has an element of directing in it as well.ĭuring film school, she enjoyed the freedom and opportunities she was provided but learned to appreciate how to accept criticism. She played around with making small student films and realized that the hands-on process of filmmaking is a type of screenwriting in its own way. She now reflects that she might have made a fantastic psychiatrist, no surprise to viewers of her work.Īfter studying literature, she decided to go to film school (at the prestigious La Fémis) with the goal of becoming a screenwriter. Ironically, while they were apprehensive about her decision to pursue a career as a writer, there was only one occupation off limits to young Ducournau: doctor. An enormous VHS collection meant a nightly screening that grew her love of cinema. Growing up with parents who were both doctors, she was actually exposed to the arts at an early age. Julia Ducournau has made a name for herself as a provocative director, whose skill in crafting unforgettable genre pieces was rewarded with the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for her latest Titane, only the second woman to ever earn that distinction.Īs part of this year's SXSW Conference and Festivals, she sat down with Holly Herrick of the Austin Film Society to discuss her roots and her films.įor Ducournau, it all begins with family. Filmmaker Julia Ducournau (r) with Austin Film Society's Holly Herrick (Photo by John Anderson)
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