Suzanne Lindon is a French director, writer, and actor. “Spring Blossom” is her first film.

“Spring Blossom” will screen at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival, which is taking place September 10-20.

W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.

SL: This is the story of Suzanne, a 16 year-old girl who is bored with people her own age. On her way to school, she passes in front of a theater where she sees an older man who seems bored with his life, too. He becomes her fantasy, her obsession, and slowly they meet and fall in love platonically — maybe because they escape from their ennui together.

Suzanne [eventually] realizes that this story isn’t her life, and that she now has the strength and the desire to fully live her adolescence and is ready to accept it. 

W&H: What drew you to this story?

SL: I have always wanted to act, but my parents are actors, so I wasn’t comfortable with the idea of saying that I wanted to do the same as them. I had the feeling that if I wanted to act, I had to be legitimate to do it. And I wanted [to feel like I made the decision for the right reason] — because this was my passion, and not because my family was already in the business. That’s why I started to think about writing a role for myself.

I wrote the movie when I was 15, the summer before starting high school. It was a complicated time for me because I was discovering new things before even knowing who I really was, and what I really wanted.

At that time, I was a sort of misfit, even though I had friends, and I was happy in my personal life, [but something was missing]. I wanted to discover what falling in love meant, and I [desired] to live my fantasies more than my real life. I was a little bored with people my age and with my routine, and secretly I hoped to meet someone who would feel the same.

So, I started to imagine what it would be like if I met someone of a different age, and [living a different lifestyle,] but who would feel exactly the same as me. In fact I started to write about the love encounter I would have loved to live.

Plus, I am from a generation in which feminism is more than important. But more than talking about feminism, I prefer to talk about humanism. This question of equality is crucial to me. That is why I wrote a story in which the two heroes are equal in terms of living their boredom and their love story, even though they are different ages.

 As a 19 year-old actress and filmmaker, I wanted to depict a young girl who falls in love with an adult man, without ever being influenced by the fact that he is older than her. She is totally herself with him, without being impressed by the age difference that exists between them. And this is the same for the male character. I wanted to show that even if he is older, he is always respectful and in love in the purest way.

As a young girl nowadays, and because I have the opportunity to create and to share my opinions, I really wanted to deliver this message and to show this image of a confident young girl. 

W&H: What do you want people to think about after they watch the film?

SL: Because the film deals with a universal topic of adolescence and the first emotions you have in your first love story, I would be very happy if many people could recognize themselves in this film, and in this young girl.

If I could be the spokesperson for my generation, and at the same time touch all other generations, I would have immense joy. I want this story to touch as many people as possible, from all ages, and I would love it if they could identify themselves in any way in it. 

W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?

SL: The biggest challenge was also what thrilled me the most. It was to do everything at the same time: writing, directing and acting. More than making a movie, I wanted to make an artistic gesture and I think that doing all these things was the only way I found to create a sort of object that really reflected me — something truly personal. 

This film was my very first time for everything. I had never written anything before, and I did it very simply, without ever putting pressure on myself. And, because I had no money to make this film, I was completely free to write whenever I wanted to. I owed nothing to anyone. 

This is the same concerning the directing part — I had never been on a set before, but the desire to make this film was so powerful that it made me approach all that in a form of lightness, almost as if I was unconscious. As for acting, I had never done it in my life before, but I already knew that this was where I would abandon myself the most. I feel free when I act. I almost feel more myself while acting than not acting. This is weird. 

Another challenge, maybe the biggest, at least the one I was the more worried about, was not to have any money to make this film. I remember that when I was preparing the movie before shooting it, I was constantly reminding the team that maybe we were working for nothing because we would not have enough money to shoot. This was very hard but also very beneficial for the film, in a way.

Because we had a very tight budget, we did not have a lot of time to shoot, so I had to think about the staggering very precisely beforehand. I had to be absolutely sure of what I wanted, so I could get it very quickly. I loved making this film with that kind of energy. Everything I did on set was very instinctive. It is a way of making movies that I would like to keep. 

W&H: How did you get your film funded? 

SL: As I said earlier, when I started to write the movie, I was the only one concerned with it. This was my secret, and I did not want to tell anyone about it. So, during the writing process I was all alone. Without even thinking of any financial support. It was once the film was written that I went to meet a producer, who was extraordinary in her way of understanding where I was going. Of course, even if the film was written we talked about it together and it evolved a little. 

We produced this film completely differently from the classic course. No TV channel, for example. No traditional way of help for films was involved in this one. We went to get the money where it was possible to find it. We contacted people we did not know very well, but we felt that they could be touched by the story, and sent them the script. 

This movie exists thanks to the help of a real mix of people, and I really care about that in the story of the making of this film. Producers of televised shows that believed in it helped us, as well as a fashion couture brand, another cinema producer who trusted us, and a wonderful distributor that loved the script. The money from Région Île-de-France was a great help, too. What is certain is that, these are people who have been touched by this story, and who are all passionate about cinema. 

It meant so much to me to see that [supporters] were excited to be part of this kind of project, because they wanted to help a movie that had tiny chances to exist in the first place. I will never forget their generosity and kindness. To me, it is really rare to meet people like this. If the film exists today it is thanks to the determination I had, of course, but mainly thanks to all these people who believed in this project and who wanted to take that risk, and to help me. 

W&H: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?

SL: Life. This is what inspired me. Being a filmmaker consists in delivering a message and a vision, and this has always fascinated me. Directing is the mix of everything that interests me the most in the world: people, movement, emotions, words, situations, music, space, rhythm. To direct is to recreate life, to invent your own universe. I think all of these things inspired me to become a filmmaker. 

It felt natural to me to be on set, because for the first time of my life I had the feeling that I really belonged where I was. I need to create images and write stories to feel totally alive. And being a filmmaker is, according to me, the most complete discipline we could do. It consists in doing everything, being everywhere, and having a constant point of view on everything. It was a way for me to educate myself, to elevate myself. And this inspired me. 

Plus, this desire was triggered in a somewhat particular way. It first came from the desire to act, and I immediately thought that if I could write myself a role, I would feel more comfortable and more legitimate to play. Only, to write a role, I had to write a movie. So, it was little by little that I realized I wanted to become a filmmaker in addition to the rest. 

I have always been a cinephile and interested in directors and technical teams. I know that I have always looked up to those who are behind the camera, often even more than those who are in front of it. So, I think filmmakers inspired me to become a filmmaker as well. 

W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?

SL: The best advice I have received was from my grandfather who used to say, “You have to go slowly when you are in a hurry.” It means that we always have to give time to time if we want to achieve our goals. I am in a hurry for beautiful things to happen to me because they inspire me and help me to create, but we should never force fate. This is advice that I consider for life in general, not only for things linked to cinema. I like this sentence and I repeat it to myself all the time when I have doubts.

As for the worst advice I have received, I probably tried to forget it. And I have none in mind, so I see that I succeeded, which is good news!

W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?

SL: To believe in themselves and in their passion and projects. Never allow yourself to be influenced, and always remain as confident as possible. 

René Char, a French poet and member of the French Resistance, said, “Impose your luck, squeeze your happiness and go toward your risk…Looking at you, they will get used to it.” This is what I wish for all women. 

W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.

SL: This is really hard to only pick one. But I know that a film that marked me, and for a very long time because I saw it young, is “The Virgin Suicides” by Sofia Coppola. She deals with a complex topic, but she does it very delicately. I love this contrast.

To me, it is a very deep movie disguised as a coming-of-age film. I love the intelligence, the beauty, and the freedom with which she films youth. The universe that emerges from this film is very personal– both thanks to its photography, but also thanks to its topic and the way Coppola treats it.

It is a woman’s film about young girls and how it is to live adolescence, but it is addressed to all, and it speaks to all because it is universal. And that, I find it very powerful. 

W&H: How are you adjusting to life during the COVID-19 pandemic? Are you keeping creative, and if so, how? 

SL: This pandemic, although tragic, has also put things in their place. I remembered what was essential: others, family, kindness. Primary values, in a way. During these times, nothing is more important than to stay united. 

I try to stay creative, of course. I am very focused on this film, which I had just finished editing three days before the lockdown in France. So, I did not really use this moment to create anything else. I had a couple of ideas, of course, but I first need “Spring Blossom” to come out, to have a free spirit and to feel inspired by something else. 

W&H: Recent protests in the U.S. and abroad have highlighted racism and anti-Black police brutality. The film industry has a long history of underrepresenting people of color onscreen and behind the scenes and reinforcing — and creating — negative stereotypes. What actions do you think need to be taken to make the film industry more inclusive?

SL: Whether in the film industry or anywhere else, everyone should be equal. No skin color is better than another, no sex. I am for Humanism in life. Everyone was born in a different environment, received a different education, but I believe that everyone should share the need of being equal, the fact of being equal. 

Women and men have to be paid the same. People of color must be employed to play any role, where skin color is not the reason why they have been hired. Equality must be everyone’s priority in all areas. And I believe that in the film industry, the only factor that should be taken in account is not the skin color, not sex — just talent.