Director, screenwriter and actor Emmanuel COURCOL was the guest at ESRA's last Thursday of the season, on March 31. After the screening of his film Cessez-le-Feu, thestudents met the director.
After starting out as an actor, Emmanuel COURCOL gradually turned to screenwriting, notably for Philippe LIORET's Welcome, Kamen KALEV's Tête Baissée and Edouard BERGEON's Au Nom de la Terre. In 2015, he turned to directing with Cessez-le-Feu, followed by Un Triomphe in 2021, which share the same theme of finding one's place in the world after a traumatic experience.
Emmanuel COURCOL spoke to the students about his work as a screenwriter and his experience as an actor, which helps him a great deal when writing. In the beginning, what counts is knowing whether there's a story to tell that will hold the audience for 1H45, 2H00 and that they'll remember for a long time afterwards. When he starts a project, writing the script is his biggest concern.
The students asked the director more specific questions about the film Cessez-le-Feu. At first glance, the choice of Romain DURIS as actor wasn't an obvious one, as he built up the character and modified the script during shooting. Emmanuel COURCOL likes small roles and small lines, which he feels bring a lot to the film. The students also had more technical questions about his filming style. He wanted a soft, fluid camera with the image of chaos in the frame. He decided to stay in the trenches, and the set design was very important.
