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She was previously in the running for the Palme dOr withSibylin 2019.
The director talked to Deadline about the new film
DEADLINE:What was the genesis of the film?
Thats the Bergman-esque side.
Justine Triet at the 76th annual Cannes film festivalMarc Piasecki/FilmMagic
Everything is constructed around the mother and the child.
DEADLINE.How did you come up with the idea of the sound recording at the heart of the trial?
TRIET:What interests me most in the film is the relationship between truth and evidence… Thats at the heart of the film and in particular, the recording of the fight between the couple.
When Sandras character says the recording is not reality.
Its what we live today.
A trial is a place where things are transformed and given extra weight, creating fresh fictions.
DEADLINE:The film is extremely layered.
A trial film, if its not a comedy, demands a lot of time.
You have to pay attention to even the tiniest detail.
The film is constructed layer after layer.
Thats something I really wanted to avoid.
DEADLINE:Youve worked with Sandra Huller in the past onSibyl, in which she had a supporting role.
What led you to cast her in the lead role here?
TRIET:I really wrote this film for Sandra Huller.
I wrote with her in my head.
I said to myself, I dont really know who Sandra is.
I could spend years trying to understand her.
Im fascinated by her.
She is so full of contradictions and complexities, and I wanted to talk about a woman like that.
I never really talk that much about my life.
I keep it very compartmentalized.
I have a complex family.
My father had lots of different women and I have a very, very blended family.
There are lots of family stories and family mythologies that I havent talked about but which nourished this work.
Its interesting to work with someone you love but I think it will be the last time.
He doesnt want to work with me again.
He said, Justine, I love you but its too much, you vampirize me.
We said the film is important but we mustnt let it devour us.
Sometimes it was awful, sometimes it was perfect.
There was also this idea of what it means to be a foreigner on trial in France.
Sandra speaks English really well.
TRIET:Its better than when I started out.
Im 44 now but there arent enough women making films.
We need to work with quotas, which will encourage and help this evolution.
They have a different vision, but its going to take time.
Theres a revolution but as a spectator, I still think there arent enough films by women.
DEADLINE:When you say quotas.
What do you mean?
TRIET:There should be quotas for everything, everything.
We need women in positions of power everywhere, not just in cinema, but across society.
Women have been involved in cinema forever but in small posts in the shadows.
We need to put them in bigger positions.
After all, we represent more than half of humanity.
DEADLINE:What does it mean for you personally to be in Competition in Cannes?
TRIET:Its fantastic.
Cannes its not just French, its international.
It can be violent.
You never know how people are going to react to the film.
Sometimes its hard because you feel like youre misunderstood but I have had a lot of luck in Cannes.
Its a bit like being on trial.
