“A director must know how to disappear”
The Canadian filmmaker is the only screenwriter whose works have been awarded the Oscar for best film two years in a row: Million Dollar Baby and Collision, which he directed himself. This Tuesday, he gave a masterclass in front of numerous filmmakers, students, and film buffs. We met him during a very joyful round table.
Why does he make films?
I like trying to explain myself to myself [Laughs]. I haven’t succeeded yet, I’m not even close to achieving it! [He laughs again] I like to explore questions that baffle me, really pose a problem for me, and “hide” them in an entertaining work. Why do people do this or that? Do I do the same thing? Of course, we hope that by asking the right questions we will get an answer. But I don’t think films should provide answers. Firstly because it would be boring.
About his favorite camera move.
I love them all. But I believe that a director should not have a style. For example, I love cranes, I’m crazy about them, but I don’t have to use them all the time. For me, a director must know how to disappear. On the other hand, a film must have its own style. A style dictated by history. In Collision, the camera is always moving, always close to the characters and the action. But In the Valley of Elah, a very “American” story, I wanted to recall classic American films, like John Ford’s westerns.
On Morocco…
This is not my first stay in Morocco. A few years ago, I came here to film In the Valley of Elah. I was very impressed by the way in which Morocco seems to have achieved what the rest of the world cannot: several religions and cultures seem to coexist peacefully. I’m even more impressed this time.
…And the Marrakech Festival
This festival is beautiful. We are relaxed there, like in the Ischia Film Festival [in Italy, editor’s note] where I often go. It’s not like in Cannes, Toronto or even Venice, where we are always in a hurry and where we don’t have time to meet real people. This is what I expect from a festival, the chance to meet other directors, screenwriters, actors, to share ideas… and drink together! [Laughs]. This is why I came to Marrakech. I enjoy being able to talk to Béla Tarr and I meet interesting Arab directors. But the experience lasts longer than the seven days of the Festival. We meet people, then we watch their films: we stay in touch and we exchange. It’s just the beginning.
His favorite themes: racism, fear
The United States is too self-centered. We are only interested in ideas, American films. But when we don’t confront other ideas, other points of view, we stereotype others, as I showed in Collision, in which the characters make imprudent decisions, based on preconceived ideas. Fear of others is a theme that is always close to my heart. Last year I produced a mini-series for HBO, Show me a hero, which tells, based on a true story, the strong resistance of a predominantly white neighborhood in New York against the construction of social housing, ordered by the American justice system. This shows that fear of others, segregation and racism are still rife in New York in the 90s.
