Parisian-born filmmaker Rémi Bezançon is one of the most prominent young talents in French cinema. His last film, “The First Day of the Rest of Your Life,” earned nine nominations and three wins at the country’s prestigious César Awards in 2009. The charming writer-director sits down with Penny Zhou and talks about his new work, “A Happy Event.”
HK Magazine: “A Happy Event” is based on writer/philosopher Éliette Abécassis’s eponymous autobiographical novel. What was it about the book that drew your interest in the first place?
Rémi Bezançon: There are hardly any books or films out there that talk about maternity so honestly and openly. For some reason, motherhood is still a taboo subject in today’s society and Éliette’s book is very unique as it tells the truth of maternity and lifts the taboo. And that really interested me.
HK: A motherhood story told through a female perspective. As a male director, how did you approach it?
RB: I think it’s because it is such a quintessentially feminine subject, that it sort of needs a male point of view to approach it with objectivity. Plus, you see, it’s a story written by a woman about a woman played by a woman—that’s a lot of women, and they need a man as the chief! [Laughs]