17/05/2009

Discovered in Cannes two years ago with her feature debut All Is Forgiven [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: David Thion
interview: Mia Hansen-Löve
film profile], 27-year-old director and former Cahiers du Cinéma collaborator Mia Hansen-Löve presented her second film Father of My Children [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mia Hansen-Løve
film profile] this morning in Un Certain Regard.

Louis-Do de Lencquesang plays Grégoire, a hyperactive producer whose company Moon Films is known for backing alternative filmmakers. He is as devoted to his work as he is to his wife and three daughters. He manages to hide from them the serious financial problems the company is facing until one day his despair is stronger and he puts an end to his life. He leaves behind family, debts and several films to finish. It is then up to his family and co-workers to deal with his legacy.

Onstage to introduce the film, a visibly nervous Hansen-Löve refused the idea that her new film is a tribute to later producer Humbert Balsan, although she had personally met him and despite the fact that her leading character’s charismatic personality and tragic suicide may resemble those of Balsan’s. More than a personal tribute to this independent producer (who died in 2005), Father of My Children seems to be, above all, a film about those loving the seventh art, but uncovering at the same time both the destructive and redemption side of cinema in the lives of those personally and professionally committed to it.

“I would say the film is about starting over”, says the director. “That’s why the death occurs in the middle, not at the end or beginning. This symmetrical structure is putting into practice, reflecting the sense of starting over. The producer’s death isn’t the end of the story, it’s a central moment in a story that goes beyond his death.”

Despite what is suggested by the title, the film’s second part is more focused on the producers’ eldest daughter than on his wife, the mother of his children. It then takes on the tones of a dark family drama, exploring hidden stories of the past and opening doors to redemption through cinema. Film is probably not more important than life, but sometimes it is in cinema that people find the answers to their own lives.

A solid second feature confirming Hansen-Löve as one of the most interesting talents of the new generation of French cinema, Father of My Children was produced by Philippe Martin and David Thion for Les Films Pelléas in co-production with 27 Films Production. Les Films du Losange handles international sales.