Meet Indie Filmmaker: CA ROULE

"Ça Roule", (European Dramatic Short category) from French directors Antoine Coutou and Jozsef Tari is
a five minute blast of ingenious images which link like the fabric of
life to show us that serenity and peace can come after fatal tragedy.

By Katie Jackson

Q: What is your film about? How did you come up with the idea and then develop the storyboard?

Antoine Coutou: The
film shows hardships we may face in life and overall the choices we
than make. Either we freeze or we decide to transform our suffering
into force and by doing so assert our confidence in life... My
grandmother also inspired me for the main character. I wanted the film
to be a tribute to the fortitude and the tenacity of women. Since the
subject is a universal message, I wanted to explore with Jozsef the
language of image and from there it only seemed natural to work the
storyboard as some sort of puzzle.

Jozsef Tari:
The film shows a woman facing a cruel event but that she decides to
overcome … Antoine came up with the original idea for this story … I
liked it because of its strong optimism and I thought his idea around
the helmet highly original … from there on we worked all details out
together going back and forth …

Q:
The opening sequence is striking and tense, it immediately reels the
viewer in. Was the film born from this image or did the idea for the
sequence come later?

Antoine Coutou:
The ideas for the film did not come to us in a chronological order. The
desire for a change of rhythm made us imagine the opening sequence
after we had decided the end of the film.

Jozsef Tari:
The opening sequence is probably not one of the most original ones but
it was a real challenge making it considering our "zero low budget" …
with such "generous" resources we were obliged to dig deep in our own
creative and inventive capacities … but we love that kind of working
process, even more when the outcome is satisfying, of course …

Q:
How did you come up with the idea of the film starting in black &
white and gradually fading into colour? How did you achieve this
effect? It seems that its significance is linked to the optimistic end
of the film, do you agree?

Antoine Coutou: I
love black and white. Here it allowed accentuating the "fable" side of
the story placing it in a particular temporality. The colour gradually
fading in expressed the return to an irrigated and lightened up life.

Jozsef Tari:
It seemed the most logical thing to do in order to emphasize the state
of time and situations : From past and terror (black & white)
coming into present and revival (colour) … although [we] decided
beforehand we [would film] in colour and work the black and white
sequences in post production …

Q:
There is no dialogue in your film, but a strong current of narrative
symbolism which tells the story instead. Is this because you feel
suggestion is stronger than statement? Or was it simply a question of
choosing visual expression over words?

Antoine Coutou:
By not using dialogues it allows everyone to enter in a personal
universe, a sort of intimacy. I like to think that the spectator may go
from one indication to another and I like that the images were chosen
as words for a phrase.

Jozsef Tari:
Using dialogues is a different way of making films, which I simply did
not try yet … although I like the spectator to be free for
interpretation I do feel the need (may be more than Antoine) to relate
an aspect of thestory in each shot, … may be the hints, symbols or
actions are not understood or seen by the spectator, but for me each
shot gives a detail on a situation, a character or a feeling …

Q:
The suggestive nature of certain shots and the way they are edited is
engaging for your audience. Were you also inspired by themes of
fatality? Is your film an attempt to encourage a positive outlook in
the face of bad fortune?

Antoine Coutou:
I am more fascinated by the question of how to always face the learning
process of life with an attitude of freshness. Keep the balance by
communicating with life rather than to be squeezed up by life. Yes
there is a positive outlook.

Jozsef Tari:
Difficult situations or extreme circumstances are real, and you may
call them as you want but what matters is the struggle to overcome and
to continue … Hanging on to that [is] what can count in life …

Q:
In only five minutes the film flips between tension with comic
undertones, tragedy, introspection and optimism. That's practically an
emotion a minute! Was it your plan with the film to explore such a wide
spectrum of emotions? Or was this a way to focus on grief- which is
indeed an emotionally varied and unsettling process?

Antoine Coutou: It
is not always easy to tell in an exhaustive way the story of a film. I
believe that in this one there was the desire to show all these diverse
moments that are all part of life. Not just separating the nice ones
from the difficult ones but in the contrary to join them.

Jozsef Tari:
The story allowed indeed to explore a wide spectrum of emotions... Bad
news, sadness occur at most inconvenient moments in life and may put an
abrupt end to the more sought after emotions as joy and excitement …
Individual grief is then an obligatory passage that must be respected
in time and the way it is expressed, different for each person … I have
an optimistic view in life and believe that there is always something
good that may help us to want to look after the pleasant emotions again
… I always and only will want to make films in which are shown the
strength and the optimism a human being is capable of …

Q: Where did you find the song in the middle of the film? Who wrote in, and why did you choose it?

Antoine Coutou: The song is called Cancion del Pinar written by Argentinean songwriter and singer Jorge Fandermole.

Jozsef Tari:
The song sang precisely by Maria was also part of Antoine's very first
inspiration for making this film … Antoine had to convince me that the
words of this Argentinean song did not necessarily [have] to be
directly connected with our story (normally for me very relevant) but
which was important is the way it was sung… It just was Maria's song …

Behind the scenes of "Ça Roule".

Q:
Quite a few animals appear throughout the film, and the introduction of
colour at the end really reveals all the luscious greens of your rural
locations. What would you say is the role of nature/the natural
backdrop in the film?

Antoine Coutou: Nature is the immediate representation of serenity, balance, mother-like and reassuring values. A place to refocus.

Jozsef Tari:
(Preserved) nature is just so full of diversity that there is probably
no one on earth who is not moved by at least a few of its beautiful
features … Observing, feeling, breathing it can only inspire or
reinforce optimism, strength and peace of mind … our character is
affected …

Q: Tell me about your next project?

Antoine Coutou: I am writing a lot lately, new short movies in preparation and ideas for longer versions as well.

Jozsef Tari:
I am working on a photo jewelery book, a video on homophobia at work, a
project with a 94-year-old and [am] waiting for Antoine to sprout out
another great idea that we can work out together…