Winner in 2021 of the Michel Legrand Prize for best film music composer, Florencia Di Concilio was this year at the Cannes Film Festival for Les Cinq Diables and Les Années Super 8, films presented at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs. Maintenance.
AlloCiné: You are in Cannes this year for two films and participated in the rise of marches between composers organized by SACEM: what do you think of the place of music in cinema?
Florencia Di Concilio : I think composition is one of the three pillars of a film along with script and direction. There are certainly films without music, but even if this is the case the music still exists, if only with the sound design etc… There is always a sound aspect which must be in harmony with the rest.
I’ve never dissociated the music of a film from the film in question, for me it’s a real whole, a work that goes hand in hand. What’s more, there are many parallels between the work of a composer and a director. In the creative process, the choice of the cast and the teams that will surround him to help him give birth to his work. They are two creators.
Do you think that film music composers are considered enough?
Florencia Di Concilio : Things are much better and being a great optimist, I feel real progress! Fifteen years ago, I had the impression that music was almost a taboo subject. Today the industry has developed enormously, with devices, meetings, special events…
But it is true that there is still a long way to go. Without being obsessed with prizes, I think it would be good if there was one at the Cannes Festival for composers, simply to mark recognition of the profession.
Can you tell us about your work on The Five Devils by Léa Mysius and The Super 8 Years by Annie Ernaux and David Ernaux-Briot?
Florencia Di Concilio : On Les Cinq Diables, it’s the logical continuation of my collaboration with Léa Mysius after Ava. But the difference here is that I had access to the script while it was being written. I also had access to all the rushes, and it’s a very rich opportunity that I had never had. This allowed me to build the music as I went, arranging it over time and discussions until the final result.
For The Super 8 Years, it was very different because these are archive images, so the film was already much more accomplished. It was another kind of creative process to find the right cadence, the right color, to harmonize the music with the voice of Annie Ernaux by highlighting her narrative.
Two totally different and exciting projects that were done at the same time, in parallel.
What was the trigger that made you want to write music for the cinema?
Florencia Di Concilio : I was a classical pianist and when I arrived in France, I met a director who gave me the opportunity to write the music for his film. And being a movie lover, that made sense. I remember the very first music I made, it was for an Arte documentary, and there I realized the number of people who were going to be able to see this documentary and listen to its music, I thought it was great!