ESRA students met with director and screenwriter Pierre SCHOELLER on Thursday, March 5, 2020, during the ESRA Thursdays.
At the age of 21, he entered the Louis Lumière school and, after making his first short film, began writing a TV movie for Arte. "Zéro défaut in 2003, which he also directed. He then wrote "Versailles which he directed in 2008 with Guillaume DEPARDIEU. Never losing sight of his intention to make a political film, he went on to write "The Exercise of State. He did an enormous amount of research, gradually piecing together the events that made the film so realistic. He then worked with Canal + on another political film "Les Anonymes - Ùn' pienghjite micca"..
After a brief overview of his career, the students asked a number of questions relating to the making of the film "Un peuple et son roi". Pierre SCHOELLER explained his creative process. In this kind of film, you have to find the boundary between history and fiction, between what is invented and reality. The script is based on archival footage; 80% of what's in the film was actually spoken. He wanted the staging to be frontal and pictorial, and conceived it as an opera. Virtually all the scenes were shot with two cameras, with a poor cut. A great deal of work was done on light sources and chiaroscuro. Unable to tolerate artificial light, he opted for candlelight rather than electricity. LEDs, transformed into flames during post-production, were used to fake a candle-like glow, as it was impossible to light candles at the Château de Versailles. He wanted the bodies and costumes to be very present. The film was difficult to write and bring to life between the financial equation and the production. Some scenes, songs and dialogues are extremely well-constructed; others are more free and improvised, due to the reality of the shoot.
What he loves about cinema is bringing the world into a film, the singularity of things and people. He documents and immerses himself in them until he feels them. His scripts are always finished, but he's constantly rewriting. The advantage of writing your own films is that you can react fairly quickly. For him, you have to enjoy and live in your film, while being welcoming and educational.
Pierre SCHOELLER concluded the masterclass by advising students not to lose sight of their original intentions, whether for a story or a character. You have to be consistent. Scenarios and projects can stop and then start again. More technically, he told them that it's important to read the script aloud, have it reread and listen to it, without being afraid to upset the construction, throw it away and start again.
