11 · 05 · 12

Olivier Assayas: Limitations of autobiographical work

Mafer Galindo Chico

Assayas spoke with Édouard Waintrop, general delegate of the Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Festival, and Charles Tesson, delegate at the International Critics' Week at the same festival, about the limits of personal reflection in his films. "Contrary to literature, cinema cannot be completely autobiographical; in film you begin with yourself in order to open up to the outside," the director said.

Assayas directed Carlos (2010), a miniseries produced by Canal + that was given an out-of-competition slot in its original five and half-hour version at the Cannes Festival (2010). He came to Morelia for the premiere of his most recent film, Apres mai (2012). Referring to the original idea of the film, he said: "The starting point of this film responds to the necessity I have to be self-reflective through my writing...I had the sensation that I didn't understanding myself or the time period that made me decide to be a filmmaker."

Critics regard the transition from Carlos to Après mai as a shift from the public to the private in the director's vision. Referring to this point, Assayas was asked why he decided to portray the generation of the seventies in his latest film. Assayas answers while José María Riba, of France Press, rushes to translate. The director said he is part of the seventies generation, and he felt the need to look back at that period while, at the same time, try to build a bridge with today's youth.

Critics look for contrasts between films. One person decides to break the ice and confesses that his favorite film is the segment Quartier des Enfants Rouges, directed by Assayas, which forms part of the feature Paris, je t´aime (2006). The critics laugh. With the same sincerity, the filmmaker said that the work was very frustrating to him because the version that is presented in the film is not complete: He had to cut it against his will.

Riba takes the conversation in another direction. He says no one has mentioned the most extraordinary thing: This director has also been a film critic! Assayas corrects him: journalist. Before collaborating with Cahiers du Cinéma, he was already a filmmaker; since then he identifies with combining theory and practice in film.

Theory is not always close to practice. But in the case of Assayas, being a film critic drove him to become involved in film. "Writing is by definition a discovery of the world...The act of writing about film made me question myself about how to convert these ideas into practice."

The conversation drew to a close with the sensation that it really had not ended. In the vision of one of the most important contemporary filmmakers in Europe, there are no limits when one is constantly exploring.