Joachim Trier left the participants of the San Sebastian Film Festival at an event on Sunday morning where Sentimental value The director spoke frankly and eloquently about his career.
The Danish-Norwegian filmmaker, nominated for the Oscars for his romantic dramatic in 2021 The worst person in the worldis also known for Resumption (2006), Oslo, August 31 (2011) and Stronger than bombs (2015). His latest project, winner of the Cannes Grand Prix this year Sentimental valueProjives here at the 73rd San Sebastian Film Festival.
The film follows the frequent collaborator of Trier, Renate Reinsve like Nora who, with his sister Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas), are faced with the confrontation of their tense relationship with their father, a discolored director named Gustav Borg (Stellan Skarsgard). She also plays in the film as an American actress, Rachel Kemp, hoping to be in Borg’s next feature.
Trier spoke – and Reinsve, present, looked at – during the discussion in San Sebastian where he answered a myriad of questions on his trip to the set of fame and work mainly in Europe. The director explained how he placed the previous one to have a final cup on all his films when, following the success of ResumptionHe was responsible for finding an American studio with which to work with.
“I need a final cup, I have had one from a film for a film,” he started. “For me, it is a moral involvement to take responsibility for what the actors give to a director – if they show their emotions, their bodies, whatever – we have created a film [and] I am responsible for what they bring to the final product. Person who seated a studio capacity and who invests money should only decide, in my opinion. This is not how art is done … [I have] A moral responsibility towards the director of photography, perhaps being far from his family for months to work on the vision that me, as a director, and all the other members of the team have created. Having an external power of the financial interest has just fucked with this material decreases confidence between us and the group. »»
“I’m not going to be ashamed of people,” he added, “because it is damn difficult to make a film and many, many, many films are made every year when the director did not have a final cup, and these are wonderful films.”
TRIER admitted that the demanding final cup made “difficult” a funded film and while some American producers have shown immense support, Resumption Was composed of Oslo, Norway and in collaboration with France. “I worked in the European financing system all my career and I am super happy,” he added.
The cinema financing system in Europe, when he gave to sort “a platform to express me very freely”, he also thinks that it is constantly threatened political. “Right’s political movements are still trying to reduce the idea of supporting flexible money in the arts in most European countries … We need support. And most of the arts have always been supported by a person with the intention of making money, but to support artistic expression and efforts. ”
Skarsgard and Fanning in “sentimental value”.
With the kind permission of Neon
At the same time, TRIER said that the need to have total creative control over his films is something that producers should support. “If you [look at] The history of cinema, many films that have worked in trade were also made by directors deeply involved in the script process, deeply involved in publishing and have had a feeling of control – the achievements of personal expression are at the heart of some of the most successful films, financially. »»
Trier continued that his champion of his actors should be reflected by the attitudes of financiers towards the filmmakers. “My approach to shielding, protection, love, nursing [actors] is the way producers and financiers should work with the directors. Do not use directors unless you really want to support and love them and help them, and [same with] Writers and publishers… I want Renate to do well, I want her to do something wonderful and I am proud of Renate as a director. I think the financiers should feel like that with the directors and the creative team. »»
Throughout the session, Trier covered a wide range of subjects, the Fire David Lynch enclosure and the intersection of the film and love (“Tenderness is the new punk!”), To believe in the power of “the European author” and the cinematographic universes they build. During the discussion Sentimental valueTrier, father of two young children, admitted his own fear of failure as a parent played a huge role in writing on the part of Skarsgard.
“I said when I entered:” I’m really afraid of failing as a father. And it’s very symbolic to make this film for me, because I don’t want to be Gustav, “he said. “In Norway, we had a lot of progression [for] Directors during the last 15, 20 years, and it has also been great for us, the male directors, because we focused on [a] Good set culture, where macho energy is reduced and it is not only all hard guys. “”
This allowed Norway filmmakers to have “private conversations” on balancing being an artist with children, he added. “In fact, feminist discourse around cinema helped men allow us more freedom to understand how we make films [as parents]. “”
The San Sebastian International Film Festival 2025 takes place on September 19 to 27.
