Just returned from Cannes where she was a member of the short film jury, Monia Chokri presented Monday night at the premiere, in Montreal, of her new film Baby sitter. An adaptation of Catherine Léger’s eponymous play in which she explores the deconstruction of genres as a way to remove relations of domination.
It is written in heaven. Here’s how Monia Chokri described her meeting with Quebec playwright and screenwriter Catherine Léger in 2018. Many people told us to meet us, because we have a common universe and he was looking for a director with whom he could work on his projects.
A week before their date, Monia Chokri went to watch the play Baby sitterperformed at the Montreal theater La Licorne. The play was so funny, smart and I felt it was urgent to tell this story, she recalls. It was a year after #MeToo and there was no movie about it at that time.
This is great, because Catherine Léger, who wrote the screenplays for The Firefly Goddess and of Charlotte’s funis only working on the film adaptation of his play.
A forced kiss as a starting point
However, the theatrical version of Baby sitter different from the one the public will discover on the big screen from Friday.
Catherine was in a very realistic universe and I found out there was a certain fantasy in the play that I wanted to see in the cinema.explains Monia Chokri, who wants to offer a graphic film.
” So I decided to include the whole world of storytelling, horror movies, and eroticism in the script. I take genre codes that are a bit misleading in the image of women, I grind them up and I turn them into a comedy. “
The beginning of the story is also different. The way in which Cédric, the main character, forcibly kisses journalist Chantal Tremblay, whose name refers to sports journalist Chantal Machabée, while she is live on television, is less aggressive in the film than in room.
We would not be able to accompany the character on his journey of transformation if his demeanor became aggressiveexplanation of the director, to whom it was the second feature film after My brother’s wife in 2019.
Because of this sexist behavior by Cédric, he loses his job and is forced to question his relationship with women in the company of his journalist brother (Steve Laplante), who understands all about the misogyny that men carry. At the same time, her husband Nadine will personally deconstruct what society expects of her as a woman.
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Show postpartum on the big screen
The non-consensual gesture at the beginning of the film is just one reason. The foundation of the film is the power relationship.
Why do we accept being under enormous power and why don’t we think of power in a more benevolent way, a power that is there to make people prosper rather than suppress them?he asked himself.
In the movie, Nadine’s character has just been born. Very few films where the characters are postpartum said Monia Chokri.
In the cinema, we see either a pregnant woman or a woman return to her size. We don’t see the moment her stomach is still swollen after giving birth, she continues. There is a taboo on motherhood in cinema and how it should be treated visually so as not to be surprised.
By reconnecting with herself and assuming her desires, Nadine regained power and strength.
Patrick Hivon is the star
Another main character of the film: that of Amy, the young babysitter played by French actress Nadia Tereszkiewicz. A sexu Mary Poppins in acidas described by Monia Chokri.
Under her blond Lolita airs, Amy holds the power in the film. He will show Cédric and Nadine, look them in the eye and say to each other: “We can walk together, because we are deconstructing”.
To include Cédric, Monia Chokri chose Patrick Hivon for his finesse and straightforwardness and she herself interpreted Nadine at Catherine Léger’s suggestion.
I thought it would be interesting to try to wear the same hat, the actress-director explains. It was interesting, but tedious. I could make my films again, but in a smaller way, because directing requires a lot from me.
After being selected at Sundance and winning two prizes at the Monte-Carlo festival (that of best film and best actor for Steve Laplante), Baby sitter will be presented at the Tribeca festival in June.
As for Monia Chokri, she will be shooting her next film from September, Sylvain is simplewhich he had already written before the making of the film Baby sitter.
This text was written froman interview conducted by Claudia Hébertcultural columnist on the show At 15-18, One show the interview Penelope and a topo by Nabi-Alexandre Chartier. Comments may have been edited for clarity or brevity.
Source: Radio-Canada
