Cannes

About the film:
The third French film in the running for the Palme d’Or, In the Beginning, is the occastion for Xavier Giannoli to return to Cannes, three years after the in-Competition screening of The Singer and eleven years after his 15-minute L’Interview was awarded the Short Film Palme d'Or. Giannoli's latest feature is a drama set in Northern France, and it is based on a real-life event. A small-time swindler defrauds an entire region into thinking he is a state contractor, and he builds a totally illegal highway – in the middle of nowhere.

The film stars François Cluzet as the con man. Giannoli worked with him some ten years ago on a short film, Dialogue au sommet. "I thought of him for this part because he had never played a character like this," says the director. "So there was some unknown territory to be conquered. And this imposture story was about the risk one takes by playing at being someone else. So, there was clearly common ground between an actor's work and this character's lies: social comedy and human truth. That's how we worked, precariously balanced on this high-risk border, faced with a disturbing identity flaw. It is a difficult, tumultuous part, full of contradictory emotions." François Cluzet's co-stars are Emmanuelle Devos, who was onscreen yesterday in The Wild Grass by Alain Resnais, and Gérard Depardieu, who played a supporting role in Giannoli's The Singer in 2006.

The filmmaker faced the challenge of shooting the construction of a real highway in the wintertime, a metaphor for the struggle to make a film. "All the difficulties with the weather, financing, the human and technical problems we had made us feel a little closer every day to our main character," Giannoli went on. "Basically, I was lucky with my film to have to face the same ordeals as he had, building his highway. In fact, at night, a highway construction site looks strangely like a film shoot.."

Press conference:
Flanked by actors François Cluzet, Soko, Emmanuelle Devos and Vincent Rottiers, cinematographer Glynn Speeckaert, and producers Pierre-Ange Le Pogam and Edouard Weil, French director Xavier Giannoli took questions from the international press about his new feature In the Beginning, screening in Competition. Selected excerpts:

Xavier Giannoli on the length of the film:
"It all started when I read a two-or-three-line report in the newspaper about this incident, and then a few other things people had written about the subject. We looked into it – I met with the judge appointed to the case, who introduced me to the defendant. And then we went on with our investigation, and I put together a whole lot of material that was interesting both from the human point of view and the technical one. I wanted to go beyond this simple anecdote. I wanted to create a genuine fiction. So, with all that I had accumulated, I wrote without thinking of the possible duration of the film. On the other hand, I was thinking about the human necessity, what needed to be told so that this could come alive and be a strong story. I wanted it to create a dizzying impression. After a while, I realized that the film would indeed be long, because the screenplay was long. What happens then, of course, is that you raise the economic question, the commercial question. Do we take the risk of making a 150-minute film? And it is a risk, it's an enormous risk. It's a huge challenge to a filmmaker. It means the film will have to be very good. Watching the film has to be such an intense experience that you forget how long it is. Making a long film today, with the economic pressure surrounding us, is an act of liberty."

François Cluzet on preparing for his part:
"A lot of work with the director. When I read the script, I immediately had the impression, which was confirmed by what followed, that we were dealing with an excessively powerful script. Obviously, that meant high-quality acting, and therefore a lot of work. First of all, I started to think about this man's idleness. I thought to myself, what's worse than being idle, having nothing to do, when one is released from prison? What kind of dangers await you? ... After that, I simply listened to the director, who knew much more than I did about the character. I was also lucky enough to be working with partners who helped me find the right tone. That's the way I like to work on a role, by trying it out with a partner. It gives me the impression that my whole character is real, especially in the scenes with Emmanuelle. I appreciated all the actors I worked with on this film, but as an actor, I really fell in love with Emmanuelle, because I had the feeling that when our characters meet, in that precious moment, she immediately enables me to believe in how to escape from the hell I've created. As if the idle ex-con finally got some self-respect and became lovable, when Emmanuelle offered herself to him. I got the idea it was the crux of the story, almost."

Xavier Giannoli on how true-to-facts the film is:
"I don't believe that any film is really true to the facts. When I look at the destiny of a man like this one, the question that comes to my mind is: Is there an original, interesting human truth in the life of this man? Is there something that hasn't been shown, that hasn't been seen, that will be an adventure for the audience? Once you distill the human truth I'm talking about, the facts aren't a problem anymore. It goes beyond a framework as simple as that. When you make a film about a story like this, you hope that there will be a dynamic that carries the story far from the mere facts."

Xavier Giannoli on the importance of being in Cannes :
"Cannes is the most wonderful screen in the world. It's the world's biggest arts festival, and it is incredibly popular and valuable. What's more, we're in France, the center of the arts and the world. It's a joy, an honor, a responsibility. How lucky we are! I admire many of the directors who are in Competition with us. The prizes depend the Jury's subjectivity – there's something magical about that, but it's also unfair. Of course, that's the thing that makes the Festival extraordinary, and one must simply humbly accept the Jury's decisions."

Emmanuelle Devos on the contrasts between Resnais and Giannoli:
"It's difficult to speak of their differences. I'd rather talk about what they have in common. Both are intelligent and passionate directors, and each in his own way loves cinema above all."