Role reversal
FOR THE PREMIERE of his film Le Grand Role at the Hong Kong Film Archive (which also happened to be his 34th birthday), Jewish-French director Steve Suissa showed up in his usual blue shirt, blue jeans and sports shoes - his dress sense a reflection of his no-nonsense approach to filmmaking.
'Even though it's my day, I dressed casually,' says Suissa, a former butcher and actor. 'I like casual wear. Anyway, it's the premiere of my film, not of me.'
Le Grand Role is a comedy-drama about Maurice Kurtz (Stephane Freiss) a down-at-luck actor who finally lands the role of his life when cast as Shylock in a Yiddish-language version of The Merchant of Venice. Things take a bad turn when his wife, Perla (Berenice Bejo), is diagnosed with terminal cancer - and Maurice loses the role. So, he and his friends devise a way to keep her spirits lifted by pretending the show is going on.
'I was touched by the sincere and honest characters in Le Grand Role when I first read the script,' Suissa says. 'The world nowadays is quite crazy. I thought it would be interesting to tell people something about love, intimate friendships, respect for others and solidarity in my film. This is not a film solely for Jewish people. It's for all people.
'The emotional intensity of the love story between Perla and Maurice inspired me,' he says. 'It's a pure love, a true one, without judgment - it's love only for love's sake.' There are reflections of the director's life in the lead character. Before becoming a director, Suissa was an actor and played in more than 30 films and plays.
'I worked as an actor for so many years,' he says. 'I understand the moments you have waiting for a big role. Sometimes, it's very frustrating. And perhaps those chances will never come.'
Supporting actor Olivier Sitruk, who's in town with Suissa, says 'he understands actors and will not force you to do things that are beyond you or the role'.
Suissa was born into an immigrant family in Paris, and was forced to leave school at 13 to help the family financially. He followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather and became a butcher.
During his four years in the trade, he found an escape at the local cinema. 'I saved tips and started watching films every night from when I was 14,' he says. 'Some directors, such as [Francis Ford] Coppola and [Stanley] Kubrick, had a big influence on me. I dreamed that one day I would be an artist. I needed to use my emotions and do important things so that I can feel my life is useful.'
At 18, he began taking courses in theatre. Later, he worked his way from acting in small theatrical roles to a life behind the camera, beginning with L'envol (2000). 'I found that it's in my character to build things,' he says. 'Being a film director can help me put my peculiar way of thinking into movies.'
Le Grand Role has been a success in his homeland and has played at festivals around the world, including the UK Jewish Festival and Boston Jewish Film Festival. Suissa has won three prizes for directing.
'What I'm trying to do is mix commercial movies with independent movies,' he says. 'Le Grand Role has a big audience, but it's not obviously commercial so that proves it can be done.
'My experiences [as a butcher] gave me a hunger for doing important things, and also the energy to do them.'
Le Grand Role opens today
