email print share on Facebook share on Twitter share on LinkedIn share on reddit pin on Pinterest

BERLINALE 2022 Generation

Olivia Rochette and Gerard-Jan Claes • Directors of Kind Hearts

“We had to strike a balance between normal, everyday life and something interesting”

by 

- BERLINALE 2022: At the centre of this Belgian documentary is a young couple reflecting on their lives and the nature of love

Olivia Rochette and Gerard-Jan Claes  • Directors of Kind Hearts
(© Avila)

The youth-centric documentary Kind Hearts [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Olivia Rochette and Gerard-…
film profile
]
by Belgian helmers Olivia Rochette and Gerard-Jan Claes premiered at this year's Berlinale, in the Generation section. We talked to the directors about their artistic approach and their protagonists.

Cineuropa: What made you want to make this film?
Olivia Rochette:
Our previous film was set in a school in Brussels, where young people learn a trade. We followed four boys who wanted to become electricians. While filming, we heard a conversation that one of the boys had with his girlfriend. They were discussing their relationship, talking about the possibility of living together. We wanted to explore the subject of love among youngsters.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

Gerard-Jan Claes: We are used to working with young people, and we like the ambivalence between a staging and a documentary approach. Film has come to be something we do together with the protagonists. The main material is always their life and what we experience with them, and this time, we were interested in the context of love.

How did you decide to focus on Lucas and Billie?
OR:
We were searching for a couple. We wanted the protagonists to have just graduated and be starting their first year of university. We invited Lucas and Billie to do some tests in front of the camera. Lucas was very open and direct from the beginning. He didn't have any problems speaking about his emotions. Billie, however, was more timid: she represents the more mysterious character.

Did you prepare them for their appearance in front of the camera?
G-JC:
All of the dialogues are real and authentic. All of the scenes are real, too. But to prepare for the shoot, we did a few rehearsals, mainly to make them both feel more comfortable in front of the camera.

OR: We had to find out how to work together. We gave them a few model dialogues, so that they would open up to the camera and find a natural way to act. But nothing that is in the film was written beforehand.

How did you develop the concept of the movie?
G-J C:
What you will see is how we love to look at people. Olivia is the cinematographer and does the images. She uses techniques that are suitable for fiction films. We like to use a certain set-up and to develop the mise-en-scène by giving it the quality of a classical film, using, for example, shots and countershots. Apart from that, we wanted to explore how the protagonists deal with their emotions, how they try to cope with the adult world. You can see clearly how they are trying to find their place within it.

Did you end up with a lot more material than you used in the final cut?
G-J C:
We have an elaborate and lengthy research period for each film, and from day one, the camera is turned on. We are already filming, testing things, doing a few scenes. A lot of it doesn't necessarily end up in the final film.

How did the coronavirus affect the film, and how much of it were you able to incorporate?
OR:
Owing to COVID-19, we had to can some scenes. However, it led to us introducing some interaction via the computer and the webcam-recorded pictures.

What were the biggest challenges you encountered?
G-J C:
The biggest challenge was to make something that was not very spectacular at first glance look interesting. We wanted to focus on this transition period in the lives of these young adults without bringing any big drama in. It was important to find the exciting details involving them and their friends, to tell a story that would be moving. It had to be a story about how we try to give meaning to our lives, which would be able to speak to any age group and to any audience.

OR: We had to strike a balance between normal, everyday life and something interesting. Another challenge was to make the locations in Brussels, which we know by heart, look interesting, and to bring out something exciting in them.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

Did you enjoy reading this article? Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox.

See also

Privacy Policy