Fiona Gordon studied theater and movement in Paris. She met Dominique Abel at the Lecoq school and after a short period in London working with Theatre de Complicité, she joined Abel in Belgium where they formed their own company, Courage mon amour. They live and work in a converted factory space in Brussels, never tiring of their favorite theme, the awkwardness of human beings. Gordon’s feature film credits include “Iceberg,” “Rumba,” and “La Fee.”

“Lost in Paris” will premiere at the 2016 BFI London Film Festival on October 12. The film is co-directed by Dominique Abel.

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

FG: It’s a film about three people who are a little lost and who cross paths as they wander about in Paris. They influence each other, shun each other, and need each other.

W&H: What drew you to this story?

FG: Our times are so dark, so we wanted to make a light-hearted and carefree film. But underneath it are the things that move us and that, we hope, reveal our humanity.

For example, one of the characters, Aunt Martha, is 84 years old. She has the desires of a young woman but her body and thinking capacities are falling apart. She is desynchronized. The misalignment of our ambitions and our possibilities can be a source of despair but can also be very funny.

W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theatre?

FG: I think our films generally stimulate the senses rather than thoughts, but perhaps they will leave people with sensations that will last, such as when you share something special like a good meal, a joke, a night of love, an inspiring landscape, a painting, or installation.

I hope that our sense of humor is contagious and that the audience will continue after the film to see the world through our clown-tinted spectacles.

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

FG: Dominique and I have a theater background. On stage, you can try things out in front of a live audience then say, “No that doesn’t work, so we’ll try something else next time.” It takes time to build physical comedy “routines” — to find the right pace, and the moments of stillness and silliness. The audience is a partner, whose engagement or indifference influences the show tangibly.

So when we make films, by the time we have a real audience, the film is pretty well fixed and it’s too costly and complicated to go backwards. We are frustrated by this limit but at the same time it forces us to look for new and economical ways of expressing ourselves, via form, color, movement, environment.

W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.

FG: We go through traditional channels for funding, because if we want to be funded by our government we have to respect the traditional composition of a budget, deadlines, union rules, etc. In this category of films, “Lost in Paris” is a medium-low budget film. It took a while to fund. We were hoping to shoot in 2013, and finally had what we needed in 2015 with government funding from the Federation Wallonie-Bruxelles, tax credits in France and Belgium via Scope pictures, several TV channels — Canal +, Cine +, BeTV, Skynet — and Media for the development, and the CNC in post-production.

Our French distributor, Potemkine, gave us a generous advance, and our International sales agent Mk2 and Belgian distributor Cineart also contributed. These advances were necessary, but if the film makes any money, it will of course go first to paying back the loans.

W&H: What does it mean for you to have your film play at LFF?

FG: I always have the impression that the sort of light-hearted film that Dominique and I wish to make won’t interest English cinephiles, who are more attracted to dark or absurd humor and politically-engaged themes.

But if I’m as pessimistic as our films are optimistic, it’s only to be all the more surprised and delighted when we actually do get invited to festivals such as the London Film Festival. So I am delighted, surprised, and looking forward to coming.

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

FG: When we were only just toying with the idea of making a film, our friend and filmmaker Olivier Smolders said, “Keep it simple, one location, one time, one or two characters.” That advice — along with a Pierre Etaix film he recommended we watch — had a trampoline effect on us. All of a sudden it made the mountain seem not quite so impossible to climb. Once the shooting started we clearly saw we had quite enough to deal with without also having to deal with continuity issues and shifting locations. It was good advice.

Of course, advice is something you can listen to or not, and usually you have a bit of time to mull it over. So even bad advice can be useful. What can be more destructive, I feel, are those things that you sometimes feel compelled to do during moments of doubt or inattention. I’ve done those things a few time.

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

FG: For me making a film is a struggle. After each film I just want to abandon the whole business. It’s so much work, since we coproduce as well. Then I forget and I’m ready to start it all again.

Anyway, I can advise people like me who are capable of sabotaging his or her own progress by negative thinking: the Lecoq school in Paris was and still is an excellent antidote. During the two years I spent there, we had to try something new and show it to people regularly. That stimulated us creatively and made working on an idea more of a routine than a state of grace. It’s the work you put into an idea that makes it grand rather than the grandness of the idea alone.

So the advice is, try and fail and try again, but find a place where it doesn’t hurt when you fail and work with supportive people who understand that failure is a part of the process.

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

FG: Just one? Iranian Samira Makhmalbaf’s “Blackboards,” because she made a desperate situation funny in a completely compassionate way, and I love to see a film that shows that humor isn’t necessarily limited to one’s own culture.

Lina Wertmüller’s “Swept Away.” I can’t remember why I liked this film except that it was joyously irreverent. I often wonder what she’s doing now, and why she’s not up there with the other icons of her epoch.

Jane Campion’s “The Piano.” It’s masterful and powerful, as is Marion Hänsel’s “The Quarry.” I am a fan of Ursula Meier, whose credits include “Les épaules solides,” “Home,” and “L’enfant d’en haut,” because she has a vision and a distinctive voice.

W&H: Have you seen opportunities for women filmmakers increase over the last year due to the increased attention paid to the issue? If someone asked you what you thought needed to be done to get women more opportunities to direct, what would be your answer?

FG: There does seem to be a gradual change, in spite of the fact that women’s rights and life conditions seem to be worse than they were thirty years ago. Maybe strong female voices are emerging because of that.

Anyway, I think all underrepresented or disadvantaged groups — almost everybody — need a boost to make it easier to get that foot through that door, be it through government, corporate, or private initiatives, but it should start with children, what and how we teach them. I know that’s not an original thought, but it’s still not being done — not in Belgium, anyway.