On the occasion of the release of “Neneh Superstar”, with Oumy Bruni Garrel and Maïwenn, here are five things to know about this feel good comedy taking place in the world of classical dance.
Neneh Superstar by Ramzi Ben Sliman
With Oumy Bruni Garrel, Maïwenn, Aïssa Maïga…
What is it about ? Born to dance, Neneh is a 12-year-old black girl who has just joined the ballet school of the Paris Opera. Despite her enthusiasm, she will have to redouble her efforts to tear herself away from her condition and be accepted by the director of the establishment, Marianne Belage. The latter is indeed the guarantor of traditions and the bearer of a secret that connects her to the little ballerina.
Looking for Neneh
Mika Cotellon – 2022 Gaumont – France 2 Cinema – Gaumont animation
To find the interpreter of Neneh, Ramzi Ben Sliman searched in France and in particular in the DOM-TOMs, in all the French-speaking countries, in Mali, in Senegal, etc. The filmmaker found girls with acting potential, but who didn’t dance well enough:
“And there, I became aware of this other glass ceiling: little black girls give up ballet very early, because they see no future for them. We were in the middle of Covid, the situation was getting tense “recalls the director, continuing:
“And finally, while we ‘casted’ the other little girls, mainly from two dance classes in Paris, they all told me about the same dancer, whom I met in the classes and competitions. It was Oumy Bruni Garrel. The interview filmed quickly proved to be convincing.”
“She was really on screen. She also explained to me that she had been to demonstrations in support of George Floyd, that she sometimes suffered from being black in the world of classical dance. I understood, so , that she had enough to build and interpret the character of Neneh.”
Before playing the main role of young Neneh, Oumy Bruni Garrel played in La Croisade by her father Louis Garrel and Les Estivants by her mother Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi. Born in Senegal in 2008, the teenager practices classical, contemporary, jazz and hip-hop dance.
An interest in dance
Mika Cotellon – 2022 Gaumont – France 2 Cinema – Gaumont animation
Ramzi Ben Sliman previously directed a short film on hip hop for the 3e Scène – Opéra national de Paris website. The director explains where his interest in dance comes from:
“It happened to me in two different ways. I discovered classical dance by accompanying my daughter to the Conservatory, then taking her to see ballets, and I also grew up in the hip-hop universe of the early 2000s. The idea of making it a subject of cinema therefore came to me quite naturally.”
Maïwenn school principal
Mika Cotellon – 2022 Gaumont – France 2 Cinema – Gaumont animation
Maïwenn portrays the inflexible headmistress in her refusal to hire Neneh, who suddenly reveals personal flaws. Ramzi Ben Sliman wrote the film for the actress: “I did not consider any other actress, and her DNA film confirmed my choice.”
“Contrary to what I did for myself, I asked him not to document himself on the world of dance and to trust me. And I did the same with the other actors. I wanted stage my point of view. Then, Maïwenn did a lot of work on her.”
“She lost weight, learned to stand very straight, to adopt a certain stiffness… There is for me, in this character of Marianne / Myriam, a work of mourning on oneself, and a symbolism on the transmission of suffering”remembers the director.
Main filming location
Mika Cotellon – 2022 Gaumont – France 2 Cinema – Gaumont animation
Ramzi Ben Sliman and his team were not able to shoot in Nanterre, where the École de Danse of the Opéra national de Paris is located, but in the new premises of the École Centrale in Saclay (which have the same aesthetics) . “Hence this (almost) optical illusion, for those who know Nanterre”says the filmmaker.
Document yourself
Mika Cotellon – 2022 Gaumont – France 2 Cinema – Gaumont animation
Before filming, Ramzi Ben Sliman drew the school staff realistically. Moreover, each sentence uttered by the latter is a sentence drawn from in-depth documentation. He also watched many documentaries, including Graines d’étoiles by Françoise Marie, who filmed the students and the lessons:
“I drew inspiration from it for certain teachers… Videos of Claude Bessy (mythical director of the School of Dance from 1972 to 2004) also helped me to fix attitudes, lines… For the linoleum and the parquet laid on the floor of the studios, we went on the sly to the Opera to see what they looked like to reconstruct them…”, recalls the filmmaker. He adds :
“I also read a sociology thesis (Entrer dans la danse. L’envers du Ballet de l’Opéra de Paris by Joël Laillier, CNRS Éditions) on the recruitment of young students at the School of Dance, it was enough talking…”