Frédéric AUBURTIN, director, screenwriter and composer, came to talk with ESRA students on the occasion of the ESRA Thursday on January 21, 2021.
Frédéric AUBURTIN's desire to make films led him to do his maritime military service in the film department. He became Claude BERRI 's chauffeur, and went on to shoot a string of feature films through his contacts and word of mouth. He worked with such renowned directors as Bertrand BLIER, Maurice PIALAT, Robert GUÉDIGUIAN, Randall WALACE and Gérard DEPARDIEU.
The films he works on are ambitious, with big budgets. As first assistant director, he is the first person hired by the production manager. He is involved in the preparation and shooting of the film. His role is to draw up an initial estimate, study the script scene by scene and draw up a draft work plan. He also takes care of location scouting and estimates the amount of work the shoot will entail. He assists the director in choosing technicians and crews. The first assistant director must have a feel for the abilities, qualities and shortcomings of each and every one of them, in order to coordinate everything. On the film Germinal by Claude BERRI, Frédéric AUBURTIN 's role exploded as director.
Frédéric AUBURTIN talked about his experience on the film L'amant by Jean-Jacques ANNAUD, in particular the location scouting in Vietnam and the logistical difficulty of knowing whether filming was possible. The script is a true story, and he went to the scene of the events with the aim of shooting certain scenes there. On L'amant, there were two first assistants, one of whom stayed in Paris to work with the director on casting and preparation, and the other who was in charge of location scouting and the construction of the film, knowing the difficulties and complexities of the shooting locations.
The director also talked about his meeting with Gérard DEPARDIEU and their collaboration on the film A Bridge Between Two Shores which they co-directed together.
