Déborah Lukumuena: "I haven't had any models in the cinema because there aren't many people who look like me physically"

She is one of the faces that matter in young French cinema: Déborah Lukumuena was the guest of the 5th

Women In Motion, the Kering program which highlights the outstanding female personalities of the cultural industry.

Discovered in the film

, in 2017, which earned her the César for best actress in a supporting role, she then chained strong roles, volunteer in a reception center for homeless women in

or bodyguard facing Gérard Depardieu in

.

She returned to her beginnings, but also to the importance of a greater representation of multiple bodies in French cinema.

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At full speed

For her, everything happened very quickly.

Déborah Lukumuena, 27 today, was destined to be a professor of literature and, between two college exams, watched the series

.

It is by seeing the performance of the Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyer, that she has the idea of ​​being an actress: “He played King Henry VIII, who in reality was short, fat and red-haired.

I found it fascinating to be able to give such a strong interpretation while being so physically distant from his character.

Déborah begins to respond to casting announcements:

, her very first film, will lead her to the César stage in a few months, “the icing on the tagine”.

A dazzling start, which did not, however, make her lose her footing: Déborah Lukumuena relied on the support of her family, and in particular her mother, who raised her alone with her four brothers and sisters.

And decides to enter the Conservatory, to perfect the learning of his profession: "I wanted to build a base of culture and technique, and to feel more experienced, and legitimate."

Find models

Young actress, Déborah Lukumuena confides if she admires Meryl Streep, Viola Davis, Sofia Coppola or the director Steve McQueen, rare are the artists who inspired her to do this job: "I did not have models in the cinema because there are not many people who look like me physically.

She is therefore building today, by imposing her talent on our screens, a new, salutary chapter.

And this, despite the racism of which it is sometimes the target.

Deborah faces up: "Leaving a vacuum around me, hearing myself think: it's the best way to fight against attacks."

"06400-Cannes": the postcard from the Cannes Film Festival 2022, episode 1

Feminine looks

Hence the importance of campaigning for more diversity in French cinema.

A revolution which, according to Déborah Lukumuena, will pass through the eyes of women.

This is one of the reasons why she has worked most often with female directors, from Houda Benyamina to Anaïs Volpé via Constance Meyer.

But not only: “I think that I receive fewer scripts signed by men because I believe that they write a lot about what makes them fantasize.

This is not a reproach: we write about what makes us dream.

I have experienced it myself.

Because Déborah Lukumuena is finishing the editing of her first short film, the story of a taco waitress (which she plays herself), who befriends a dominatrix.

The latter takes him, the time to

one night, in this world where the relationships of domination between men, women and social backgrounds are turned upside down.

A beautiful and necessary idea.