Julie Delpy began her international career as an actress, then turned to writing and directing. Her first feature was 2007’s “2 Days in Paris,” for which she later directed a sequel, “2 Days in New York.” She also directed “Lolo,” “The Countess,” which won the 2010 Best Director Award at Cabourg Romantic Film Festival, and “The Skylab,” which won a special jury prize at the San Sebastián International Film Festival. In 2005, she received an Oscar nomination for co-writing “Before Sunset” with Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater.
“My Zoe” will premiere at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival on September 7.
W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.
JD: A couple is in the middle of a child custody battle. They are so caught up in it that they lose sight of what truly matters. Then tragedy hits and the mother makes a groundbreaking and morally questionable decision, achieving the unthinkable with the help of a doctor and his wife.
The film is a bit of a take on child custody and the “madness” that it is to be a parent.
W&H: What drew you to this story?
JD: Exploring a very deep fear that is ingrained in all of us. Also, to raise questions about our ethics when facing personal tragedy. I wanted to explore a drama, yet I structured it a bit like a thriller to avoid melodrama.
The film has a very distinct three-act structure, which explores different realities. The first act is in a reality we are all accustomed to, the second act is something that fewer of us have experienced, and the third act explores a possibility that is still a fantasy, but it is still rooted in realism.
W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?
JD: I guess people will probably think very different things. Some will identify with the mother; some will completely disagree.
W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?
JD: Being able to find money for it. It took me six years from the moment I had a final script. Obviously, it is not what people expect from me and not an easy subject matter. Strangely enough, it is the ex-husband character and how he behaves that was the most disturbing to readers.
W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.
JD: Private investors, Andrew Levitas brought on by Gabrielle Tana, regional funds, distributors like Warner Germany, TV channels, and Canal Plus. Daniel Bruhl’s company Amusement Park Film]produced the film and was very involved with producer Malte Grunert.
I’m very lucky and very grateful to everyone involved in financing and producing. Prior to the final investors, we had a few misadventures during those six years. We had to cut the budget down quite a bit, eventually.
But I can’t complain. I made the film! I had wonderful actresses and actors, as well as an amazing director of photography, Stéphane Fontaine.
W&H: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?
JD: I always wanted to direct movies, but it was a true battle and still is in many ways. This is especially true when you try to do something different from what people expect from you. It gets really “tricky” for everyone.
W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?
JD: Best advice is to listen to what others have to say on set. Also, as a writer Krzysztof Kieślowski had advised me to always take a little seed of truth and build the story from there. Actually, I started writing this film in 1994 after a conversation with him.
Worst? The opposite — don’t listen to anyone.
W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?
JD: Freeze your eggs — not a joke — because it will take you four times the time and energy that it will take a man. By the time you’ll be able to make your first film, most likely you will be too old to have a family or barely make it.
If you have a family before you make your first film, you better have the right support around you because you might not be able to go off for four months and do your film. Maybe I’m exaggerating a bit, but that was my experience. Hopefully, things are a little better now.
I wrote my first script at 16, went to film school in my early 20s, and directed my first film at 36. My journey took 20 years to finally be given less than a million euros to make “2 Days in Paris” — after an Oscar nomination as a writer, and a 20-plus years career as an actress.
The film ended up making everyone rich — on an indie level of course! It was also the first original content purchase by Netflix in 2007 and still released theatrically. I made less than 10,000 euros on it for writing, directing, producing, and acting — and also composing the score. Ha!
W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.
JD: “Cleo from 5 to 7” and “Les Plages D’Agnes” by Agnès Varda, “An Angel at My Table” and “In the Cut” by Jane Campion, and “Raw” by Julia Ducournau.
W&H: What differences have you noticed in the industry since the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements launched?
JD: My agent tells me it is changing a lot — she’s more aware of the big picture — and I feel people are more interested in women directors for sure. Really, what is important to me is that female directors get to have a voice, finally.
Regarding #MeToo, Harvey Weinstein was a drop in an ocean. I understand that some people that did pretty bad things are still doing great — not all rapists, just the kind that pressured women and wrecked their career when those women said “No!” I include France in that comment as well.
Because those men are still successful, people can’t freely speak up. Some are still untouchable like Weinstein was for so many years. It is a system like many others we live by and systems are very hard to change.
In a way, systems are the hardest thing to shake because so many live by them and don’t know any better, even the victims. I believe what happened in the business is also a tiny speck on the scale of what is going on in the world — you don’t need to be an actress to be sexually harassed.
The first act of “My Zoe” has a completely female perspective on a separation. There have been many films from the man’s perspective.
By doing research I was surprised to see often more empathy towards men than women during a separation. I think, in part because many more men have been able to tell their story to the world. Let’s see how my take on a separation is perceived and accepted.
The character of James in “My Zoe” is full of nuances compared to a few men I’ve witnessed during a separation that involved children, and Isabelle is not as scared or crushed as some women I know. “Funnily” enough, now that the legal system thinks it is being fair, it sometimes favors men.
By treating men equally, you sometimes end up favoring them because nature and society has already favored them in so many ways. They have the upper hand on physical strength and reproduction, then socially, and economically. We all know the story. Yes, it is a generality, but sadly true.
The mother in “My Zoe” is initially based on a couple of women I met, and James on their ex-husbands using the legal system to their advantage. Not every woman ends with the house and the kids. Not every woman ends up with Laura Wasser as a lawyer.
Why? Oh yes, you need a net worth of I don’t know how much. How many women have a net worth? So, equality yes, but not only when it favors men –haha!
I saw an architect — a man– on a TED Talk talking about women’s public toilets versus men’s, and how it summed up our society and unfairness towards women. Very funny, but true.
I’m not saying all men are controlling and all women are saints or victims — please! It is just this specific ex-husband character in this story, and I believe Isabelle is far from perfect as well.
I feel many men are wonderful and supportive of women. I actually learned over the years to surround myself with amazing men — I was raised by a feminist dad! My husband was more than supportive on this film in particular.
To me, witnessing a mother being crushed by a man and a system and missing her child desperately is very painful. The film goes much further than this already excruciating pain. I had to find a balance in the film. That is why I needed a very sensitive and intelligent actor to play James, an actor ready to embrace the dark side of the character and therefore to eventually unveil his vulnerability, and not be middle of the road, yet real.
Realistically, some people react to pain and rejection by being extremely cruel. It sometimes doesn’t even make sense. And I had to accept the dark side of Isabelle as well. The character of Isabelle does a very violent thing morally, not just ethically. If the film is an allegory on child custody, at the very end she annihilates the father. In that sense the film is radical and I know it will upset some people.
Also, there is redemption for James, but in a way not for Isabelle. Everyone involved in the film had to embrace this unusual aspect of the film. And there were no fancy makeup or music to hide behind or soothe.
So, I’m very thankful to all the actresses and actors who embarked on this project — Gemma Arterton, Sophia Ally, Richard Armitage, Daniel Bruhl, and all the supporting roles as well.
