Exclusive: It has been a year for the French actress and director Herzi Herzi.
In February, she became the first French artist for North African ancestors to win the Best Actress in the Fifteenth Edition of César Awards in France for her performance in Corsica. BorgoAs a prison guard suspected of being a double murder.
Three months later, she was in a competition at Cannes for the first time with her third feature film Small sister.
This success did not come out of the blue.
Herzi, who was born in France for the parents of the Algerian and Tunisian origin, has been building her career steadily since her discovery in Abdel -Abd Khechiche Coucous ((La Grain et le mulet) In 2007, after she achieved 60 credit hours as an actress, she moved to the guidance in 2010.
The first feature You deserve a lover She played in the Cannes Critics Festival week in 2019, while her second movie Good mother It was first shown at the United Nations, and the Band Award was won.
Small sister Nadia Milleti for the first time in the stars in the 17 -year -old Fatima, wrestling with her attractiveness to women, and her loyalty to her French -French family, in an attempt to stay faithful to herself while reconciling different parts of her identity.
The film was adapted from Fatima Das 2020 automatic novel Last one Listing the experience of being a strange Muslim woman in the immigrant community, where sexual identity issues are rarely encircled.
The film was produced by Jolly Billy and Naomi Dynamore in June. MK2 movies deal with international sales. The deadline spoke to Herzi before the competition was presented, while the production revealed a first clip. Check it below.
Delivery date: What directed you to the novel Fatima Das?
Herzi: In fact, I did not know the work. It was suggested to me after my first movie. Call and Kelly said that there are producers who want to meet you. This is when I discovered that. What I liked when I was reading it was that he was a character that we had never seen in the cinema. I have never done adaptation before and I think it would be an opportunity to try. Then I met the author who signed me as he was adapting.
Delivery date: When I met it, did you feel a feeling of a common thing as the second -generation grandchildren?
Herzi: The book itself, even if my story was not already spoke to me because I found common points, especially when she describes her family, immigrant fathers, and the second generation.
Delivery date: How did you develop the character?
Herzi: Even if the character in the book is not completely new to me, I searched, learned about the environment, went to parties, I collected many certificates from people who live this kind of situation.
Delivery date: The film reveals the character’s questions about her sexual life little by little. It is very accurate.
Herzi: It was deliberate. We wanted to be discovered little by little, because she discovers herself little by little, and because she is a person looking for herself, I wanted to confuse the issue a little. She does not know what she wants, even if she knows that she is not attracted by children.
The deadline: Fatima comes from the family of the French Muslim -Muslim. Is it still difficult for someone to go out in this society in real life?
Herzi: It is definitely complicated, but it may also be a Christian, rich or poor family. What I liked is Pdeeur and reduced them, and the difficulty you face in putting words as you feel, but this position may arise in any background, social class or religion.
Delivery date: There were many films about young people who wrestled with their sexual tendencies, but less than women …
Herzi: This attracted me to the story. She is a character I get to know, and I teach her in real life, but she did not see her in the cinema and I told myself that it is good to try to shed light on this.
Delivery date: Nadia Milleti makes it for the first time in the big screen in this role. How did you find her?
Herzi: We have made a lot of open compys and exploration in the streets surrounding the chat and this is where we found.
Delivery date: Did you make the story more complicated in pouring?
Herzi: It is complicated by every level. Once we talked about the topic, I told the story, many people decided not to follow up, even among some of the crew that we talked about. This made me more determined to make the movie. I was surprised. I know there are phobias but they did not realize that it was widespread. It was horrific for me, I did not realize that this would lead to such a problem … but on the positive side, this meant that the people who joined me in the project were there for the right reasons.
Delivery date: Since the main backgrounds are Fatima Secondary School and then her university life, she collected a variety and a young woman. How did she work with all these young people?
HerziI loved him. I like to create scenes that include many and many people. For this reason I wrote those scenes. It was great. I liked to do more but I couldn’t … the movie was very long.
Delivery date: What does it mean to be in a competition at Cannes with this movie?
Herzi: It is a little frightening, but it is a good fear and I am very happy to be there. I hope people like the movie and that his message will shine.
The deadline: What after …
Herzi: I have acting roles, but at the forefront, I am waiting to see what is happening with this movie … I want to back down. It is exhausting in making a movie, and we have worked on for years … It took at least writing and adapting, and I had a child between the time … Then it took two years to prepare and earn … but I adore guidance, it is stressful but I love it.
