“I started with the idea that I was making a film that would have zero entries”: why was Justine Triet so surprised by her Palme? At our microphone, the filmmaker commented on the post-Palme period. How did she experience receiving this prize and the success?
A Palm and after? How does it feel to receive a Palme d’or? Justine Triet won the prestigious award last May, one of the most prized in the world of cinema, and her film, Anatomy of a Fall, is now in theaters.
Is it overwhelming to receive such an award? Picking up on remarks made 2 years ago by Julia Ducournau, Palme d’Or for Titanium, and the very first French director to receive it, we asked Justine Triet how she received this award?
For the record, Julia Ducournau had explained: “[Steven] Soderbergh, who received it at 25 for his first film [Sexe, mensonge et vidéo]said a great thing when receiving his award: “Well now I can only do worse!“The rest of Julia Ducournau’s statement here.
Is Justine Triet on this line? “The good thing is that it doesn’t happen to me too young either. (Editor’s note. 45 years old), compared to Soderbergh who was 25 years old. The story is great: he has a heartbreak; he wrote a film for 15 days, and he won a Palme d’Or. There, the story is overwhelming.“
“I’m fine, I had time to live a little! But it’s obviously extremely joyful. It’s the greatest honor one can have. I am very touched, also for my actors. It’s something to share that’s crazy..”
I hadn’t had a prize since my first short film!
And to continue: “I haven’t had a prize since my first short film. There were 10 years of nothing. And then, it’s nice to receive it from Julia [Ducournau]who was not alone in the jury, this 2nd Palme d’Or [à une réalisatrice française].
“I’m going to try to have a somewhat normal life. I don’t feel frozen in there. I’m just going to travel a little more this year, but then I’m going to continue my life as a filmmaker: making films.”
Justine Triet began accompanying the film in North America, in this case at the prestigious TIFF, the Toronto Film Festival in Canada. Anatomy of a Fall will soon be released in the United States, first in preview in Aspen and at the New York Festival, then in limited release on October 13, 2023, distributed by Neon.
She continues: “I don’t feel crushed. I feel quite carried. We’ve been working on this film for 3 and a half years. And then I remember that I started this film by saying: I’m making my most radical film, no one will go to see it, but it doesn’t matter. And then I thought I’d make a series of it! So, basically, I started with the idea that I was making a film that would have zero entries! So far it’s going pretty well, so that’s great!”
Anatomy of a Fall has made the best start for a Palme d’Or since Parasite in 2019. To date, the film directed by Justine Triet has exceeded 600,000 admissions in France.
It will establish itself as the director’s most seen film, which had already met with great success with Victoria, with Virginie Efira and Vincent Lacoste. Anatomy of a fall should exceed one million entries, in particular thanks to good word of mouth. The film was acclaimed by the spectators of the AlloCiné Club, who awarded them their label.
Interview at Club AlloCiné, in July 2023, at the Forum des images in Paris.