VoyForums
[ Show ]
Support VoyForums
[ Shrink ]
VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, [3], 4, 5, 6 ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 14:43:03 01/21/02 Mon
Author: Susan W.
Subject: A chat with Charles Biname

Cyberpresse.ca hosted a chat today with Charles Biname, director of Seraphin, Blanche, and Chili's Blues. I attended the chat and have translated relevant portions of it from the original French.

CB: Seraphin is still in production. There are a few days of filming remaining, and the editing is almost finished.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Susan W: I hope to see Seraphin in the United States.

CB: No, Seraphin will not be coming out in the United States. It's a film which has been made in French and unless the Americans put out an original, subtitled version,which is extremely rare, it will be necessary to see it on our Quebec screens in November, 2002.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Susan: [another Susan, not me!] (Please excuse me: I am English and I don't have the accents here) What are your impressions of working with Roy Dupuis: Seraphin, and the other projects before Seraphin?

CB: He is an extraordinary actor. This has been for me, for this filming of Seraphin, a rediscovery. He is an actor with whom I have already filmed two productions, and I have rediscovered a transformed human being. As an actor, he is very generous; he searches, with a lot of integrity, for the accuracy and the foundations of his characters.

(More to follow.)

Susan W.

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies:

[> Thanks for sharing the chat! Looks like this Texan won't get to see it...guess I will have to continue living vicariously. -- PJ, 15:58:12 01/21/02 Mon


[ Edit | View ]
[> A chat with Charles Biname, cont'd. -- Susan W, 16:13:06 01/21/02 Mon


InfluenZa: With the arrival of the giant multi-plexes, and the omnipresence of the American commercial culture, do you believe that the Quebec cinema director will be threatened by marginalization?

CB: If one observes what has already happened, that which you believe has already come to pass. However, I don't know, I have the impression there has been an inspiration, and lots of diversity in our cinema in these past few years, so that this has created an in-draught (an interest?) on the public side. That is my hope, in any case.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
giz: Is it a childhood dream that you have realized?

CB: What, to be a film maker?

giz: ...to make movies.

CB: No, that happened by accident. But since I have agreed to speak about the project, it has become an adult dream to explore this small (?) and legendary universe of Seraphin Poudrier.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CB: (in response to a question) The decision about the distributor, Alliance Vivafilm, has exactly that of which you speak, that is to say, to waken the curiosity. You know, our films are commercial products that must be put into motion. Our problem in Quebec--it happens that you remember at the last minute, with a small announcement in the newspaper saying, "Come see my film!" That's suicidal! The Americans understand that, and one often sees the trailers several months in advance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Frontenac1: [speaking of Seraphin] At what place are you shooting the film of "A man...?"

CB: Principally in Lanaudiere, near the village of Mandeville.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CB: (in response to a quesion about his budget for Seraphin) The budget is 5.7 million dollars. No it isn't sufficient for making a reconstruction, in comparison with the international plan of the films that are shot in a few hundred days, and with much more considerable means. We film in 38 days, at 11 hours per day, in a state of continual urgency...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(end of partial transcript)

M. Biname also mentioned that in terms of international actors, he would most like to work with Sean Penn, Robert DeNiro, and Anthony Hopkins. He also said that he planned on showing Seraphin at an international film festival in Spain, but he did not mention any plans to show the film at similar festivals in the U.S.

Susan W.


[ Edit | View ]

[> [> Re: A chat with Charles Biname, cont'd. -- viv, 15:49:23 01/22/02 Tue

Excellent - thanks Susan. I'm a big Biname fan. UHESP is bound to come out in video/DVD eventually

viv


[ Edit | View ]

[> [> [> I think it will come out in video/DVD too, viv. I'm not quite sure why he was so down on that idea. (r) -- sw, 22:24:36 01/23/02 Wed

I got the impression from the chat that as a Quebec filmmaker,he is feeling really squished by the reach of the Hollywood film industry. There is an old Polish expression that seems to fit: if a rock falls on an egg, alas for the egg; if an egg falls on a rock, alas for the egg. He feels that vulnerable. Yet, he still has that desire to work with some of the big Hollywood names--an interesting duality.


[ Edit | View ]

[> Re: A chat with Charles Biname -- mary(josephine670), 00:09:24 01/23/02 Wed

Merci beaucoup, Susan, pour la traduction interessante de Charles Biname! Tres rapide aussi! I had no luck getting into the correct chat room, even tho I had a password. Not that it would have made a difference anyhow........I can't keep up in an English chat....let alone a French one!! LOL!! I spoke with another Susan in a different chat , but I don't think it was you!
Mary (aka azuma1)


[ Edit | View ]

[> [> No, the Susan that you spoke with wasn't me. I was madly scribbling as the chat rolled by! :-) -- sw, 22:27:40 01/23/02 Wed


[ Edit | View ]

[> Thanks so much, Susan W! I just might have to go to Quebec in November. :-) -- Shirleym, 21:53:48 01/24/02 Thu


[ Edit | View ]
[> SusanW... a question, if you would be so kind as to reply (r) -- KT, 19:16:25 01/28/02 Mon

Is there any chance of Seraphin being issued on video with subtitles? I know that amuzem.com has issued nearly everything RD has appeared in in French, Subtitled, and some dubbed in English by original casts.

Here's hoping that they will see fit to do the same for Roy's latest endeavor so that we may all enjoy it.

Best, KT ^!^


[ Edit | View ]

[> [> KT, your guess is as good as mine, but I tend to think it will be. R.D. just has too many fans down here who will be wanting to see it! :-) -- Susan W, 21:25:10 02/04/02 Mon


[ Edit | View ]

[ Contact Forum Admin ]

Forum timezone: GMT-5
VF Version: 3.00b, ConfDB:
Before posting please read our privacy policy.
VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
Copyright © 1998-2019 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.