Since the phone call from his producers on April 22, announcing that Niki, her first film, dedicated to the artist Niki de Saint Phalle, was selected at Cannes, Céline Sallette, filming in Cogolin (Var), continues to rejoice. “It’s a great opportunity for first films,” assures the one who first made herself known as an actress. She is not the only actress to see her directorial debut praised this year. Like her, Ariane Labed for September Sayings and Laetitia Dosch for The Trial of the Dog will present their first film in the Debussy room of the Palais des Festivals, where screenings of the Un certain regard selection take place, dedicated to directors to discover.
Two other actress-directors are participating in the festival: Noémie Merlant, whose second film, Women on the balconywill be screened in a midnight screening at the Palais des Festivals, and the American Greta Gerwig, who will chair the Cannes jury. ” The Queen ! “, enthuses Céline Sallette who loves him as much for his roles as for his own films, barbie on your mind. She admires the career of the Californian filmmaker, both a figure of independent cinema and director of a global blockbuster, who decided not to choose between acting, writing and directing. A rare status in the United States but much more common in France. In France, one of the pioneers was undoubtedly Nicole Garcia, with One week-end out of two, in 1990. What followed were Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, Agnès Jaoui, Julie Delpy, Valérie Donzelli, Valérie Lemercier, Maïwenn, Hafsia Herzi and so many others… All became directors after a recognized career in front of the camera.
As for men, the phenomenon is much older, and dates back almost to the early days of cinema, with Charlie Chaplin. Then there was, in the Anglo-Saxon world, Clint Eastwood, Ron Howard, Terry Gilliam… In France, we can think of Mathieu Amalric, Gilles Lellouche, Alain Chabat… But cinema has been experiencing a (relative) revolution in recent years: the number of female directors is increasing – 27% of the authors of films released over the last ten years are women, according to the Collective 50/50.
This phenomenon of actress-director corresponds to the history of an environment in which women have long been confined to acting and men attracted by the position of director. For a long time, women were only able to access the world of cinema by becoming actresses, when men had a range of professions at their disposal, including the main one, the one that made people dream: director or the role of an all-powerful pygmalion that many women – and men – are now helping to deconstruct.
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