If "Hors Normes", seen in theaters by more than 2 million spectators, left empty-handed from the 45th ceremony despite nine nominations, it was rewarded Wednesday morning with the César des lycéens. Directors Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache do not hide their joy at winning this prize awarded by young people, and look back on the eventful evening of Friday evening.
Are you happy to receive this César from high school students?
ÉRIC TOLEDANO AND OLIVIER NAKACHE We can't say we were expecting it, but it's very good news. First of all because it is awarded by young people, the public probably the most difficult to attract to the cinema. And given the context, the atmosphere of the ceremony, and the magnificent strike that we carried out on Friday evening, this César comes to warm our hearts. We are very proud.
Is it important to see the film crowned by young people?
It's great and motivating. When you tackle a subject as complex as that of “Hors Normes”, you never know how the audience will react, especially the young audience. We wrote the screenplay two or three years before the film's release, and telling ourselves that we are in tune with youth is a very good signal, which pushes us to move forward.
It is said that young audiences are mostly attracted to superhero movies, are your characters some kind of superhero?
These are people who are trying to repair the world, in that they may be superheroes, but part of the reality around us. This is what touches us the most with this César: young people will especially see fantastic films, disconnected from reality, with heroes who have superpowers, or here we are presented to guys who have no superpower, but who act with their humanity. We managed to share with this audience an essential questioning. During the previews, we saw young people who were asking questions about their future, who were looking for occupations that make sense, but the profession of educator that is described in the film is focused on the other ...
Suddenly, you are less disappointed to have won nothing on the charts Friday evening ...
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We have no bitterness or disappointment with the winners. First of all because we are getting used to being comfortably seated in the armchairs of the Pleyel room throughout the evening ( laughs ). And we don't have a passion for classifying films, for this competitive spirit. But we were valued to be associated with a great year of French cinema, even if today there is not much left following the controversies of the awards.
What is your view on these controversies which continue with a very divided cinema environment?
The discomfort was palpable in the room. On leaving, we debated with the actors of the film, analyzed this discomfort. Since then, we feel an obligation to position ourselves for one or the other. It is symptomatic of the time, you have to respond very quickly, without nuance, without time for discussion, without arguments, by lowering or raising your thumb. However if we make films, it is to ask questions, and take the time to analyze, to bring nuance. To take the example of the subject of “Non Norms”, there are many divisions, oppositions in the world of autism. But we took the time to listen to everyone, to try to understand the issues. So in the current period, although we answer you about the divisions and the controversies in the world of cinema, this will lack analysis, it is not our way of doing things.
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The controversies have obscured certain issues?
Yes, it was an exceptional year because many films brought together voters, critics and the public, which is the case with "Grâce à Dieu", "Les Misérables", "La Belle Epoque", "Hors Normes" and even "J'accuse", which did not happen before. But this festive dimension has been obscured by controversy. Obviously, we have an understanding of the anger and the feeling that it is necessary to have in this complicated moment for the cinema, of an important fight which is at stake, that of the place of women, but including for this fight it is worth it is what we want to show better with our films than to divide.
Can this divide, this division, be reduced?
Each crisis has its positive aspects. There will be a before and after a César 2020, we cannot simply say "let's start off on the right foot", there are bound to be things that are not going well, we will have to rethink them.
