At The Movie Buff, we recently had the chance to watch the short film “Covidream,” written by French filmmaker Pierre Glénat and directed by Glénat and Philippe Lebraud. The film, releasing in the heart of the Covid-19 pandemic shines a light on several topics, the most salient of course being the lockdowns and loss of personal contact between persons.
“Covidream,” which Glénat describes as a project that he would like to see eventually filmed as a feature film, is a good film, and is packed with illusory images and symbolism, which you can read in our original review here.
This week, we were lucky enough to sit down with Glénat, who was good enough to talk to us about his project, the filming experience, casting the movie, and his hopes for the future, full-length version. The interview follows below; and don’t forget to check out how to watch the film at the end of the interview!
*Note: this interview includes edits for clarity.
Mark Ziobro, for The Movie Buff: Hi, and thank you for agreeing to this interview. Can you please introduce yourself for our readers?
Pierre Glénat, Maeva Rasolofoarison, and Caroline Lavergne in “Covidream.” Photo by Philippe Lebraud.
I am a French Actor-Writer-Director living in the eastern suburbs of Paris. I like working on projects with a strong and original editorial line. For example, I wrote the short film and the play “Norma Jeane,” which develops the dark side of Marilyn Monroe in the last years of her brief and tragic life.
We recently watched your film “Covidream,” which you directed with Philippe Lebraud. Can you tell us a bit about the film? How did you come up with this concept and what are you trying to say?
“Covidream” is inspired by the anxious time we are going through since 1 year and a half [of Covid]. This short opus is a waking dream that aims to sublimate reality while exorcising it. The fact of shooting the film outside allowed us to find a breath, to get out of the lockdown. It is as if a window of hope opened on the world, on the cosmos, and allowed a resilience, a redemption.
Can you tell us about your casting process? How did you come to cast Caroline Lavergne and Maeva Rasolofoarison and how was it working with them?
I knew Caroline Lavergne from the short film “H-24” directed by Yassine Harbachi. She played the psychiatrist of the character, Carl, that I interpreted. Her professionalism and her accuracy in “H-24” had convinced me and I felt that I would work with her again. As for Maeva Rasolofoarison, I had directed her in the mini-series “L’univers du Docteur Angel” and Maeva’s hypersensitivity combined with her dreamlike dimension fitted the character perfectly, and no actress could have played her better.
The characters of Caro, Maeva, and Enoch function as archetypes of human reactions to the confinement of the Covid and the fears raised by the virus.”filmmaker pierre glénat
Picking Covid as a topic must have been hard to get right. What made you pick the park for the setting for your film? Was it because it’s safer there, easier to social distance? Or were you trying to say something about human interaction and our need for it?
To extend what I said earlier, the park is a metaphor of the universe. [It’s] a kind of cosmogony in which the characters are projected towards the outside and seek a line of escape from reality, a kind of salvation. Human interactions in this case are facilitated and communication restored after the lockdown
Poster for “Covidream.” Poster art by Philippe Lebraud.
We read in your press kit that “Covidream” was originally intended to be a feature film. Can you tell us why you picked a short for your vision, and will a feature film be a possibility?
In fact “Covidream” adapts to both formats and we will then make the feature film. In the long version the film will be able to open on several dimensions and will become a kind of medical thriller in which other interactions will take place with very strong and complex female characters in a kind of psychological vortex.
I couldn’t help but notice that the characters of Maeva, Caroa, and Enoch seem to echo many of the warnings and fears of Covid, and react to these fears differently. What do you hope that viewers will take away from your film? Are you trying to start a conversation about a return to normal after Covid, or is your film purely emotional?
The characters of Caro, Maeva, and Enoch function as archetypes of human reactions to the confinement of the Covid and the fears raised by the virus. However the film does not project itself on the future, it accepts the present…its suffering while sublimating it by means of the aesthetic visions of the park and the dreamlike fulgurances that it favors.
Was it hard to film “Covidream?” Can you tell us a bit about its struggles and hardships?
No, filming “Covidream” was done with fluidity and harmony between the participants. In one day we had collected all the rushes. All that remained was the editing that Philippe Lebraud carried out in a masterly and poetic way. His talent as a photographer bringing him this natural beauty of the images.
Has the film shown at any festivals? If so, how has the reception been?
Covidream is registered to the French festival Entrevues Belfort Film Festival, which is dedicated to first-time filmmakers. Belfort, [in its]36th edition, is recognized by the professionals of the 7th art for its reliability and its quality.
As for the critics, as you could read in the press kit, they are very favorable, emphasizing the naturalness, the poetry, and the humanism that emerge from the fluidity and the beauty of the images.
Can you tell us what is next for you? Do you have any future projects in the works or any more plans for “Covidream.”
A still from the short “Covidream.” Still from Pexel Videos.
The priority project is to produce Covidream as a feature film. The first contacts with Golda Production, of Philip Judith-Gozlin and Jean-Louis Godfroy, are encouraging. Philip Gozlin, who produced and directed with his company “The other Josephine Baker,” adheres to the dramaturgy of the “Covidream” scenario and encouraged me to refine the script. It’s a long-term job that will also require a substantial cast: we’ll tell you more about it.
Do you have any website/social media links you would like to share for people to learn more about “Covidream?” Also, where is it available to watch?
You can find us on the official page of the film at https://www.facebook.com/PierreGlenatCovidream. To watch the short film, here is the youtube link: https://youtu.be/NGVtOR6OZzQ
In conclusion, I would say that cinema is above all a team effort, a shared pleasure thanks to the talents of each person.
We at The Movie Buff thank Pierre Glénat for his time. If you get the chance, do check out his film “Covidream” at the above link and help support indie film.
1 Comment
deeply grateful Mark for the interview!