"I didn't know I was loved so much in Israel, it was exciting to celebrate my birthday here"

Charlotte Ginzburg arrived at the Jerusalem Film Festival with her husband and son to present their family project - a spoken word film called "The Blame".

In a conversation with the media, she talked about the connection to Israel and Judaism and what it's like to play the mother of a rapist, when the rapist plays your son in real life

Avner Shavit

07/24/2022

Sunday, July 24, 2022, 1:09 p.m. Updated: 1:26 p.m.

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Trailer for the movie "Hashma" (Nachshon Films)

Last weekend a magnificent French delegation arrived in Israel: director Ivan Atal;

his partner, the actress and musician Charlotte Gainsbourg;

and their common son, Ben Atal.

The three traveled around the country and continue to travel, but the center of their activity was the Jerusalem Festival.

Ginsburg presented at the festival local premieres of two films starring her - "Night Birds", unrelated to her partner and son;

and "Blame", which is a family project.

Ivan Atal wrote the screenplay, based on Karin Toil's book, which was released in Hebrew under the title "Human Affairs", and also directed the film.

Ben Atal, in his first film role, plays a privileged young man who sexually assaults the young daughter of his mother's new partner - played by Ginsburg herself.

The two screenings of the film at the festival were full to capacity (and it should be noted that, in general, the festival is packed as if there was no corona).

Tonight it will also be screened in Tel Aviv and at the end of the week it will be released in wide commercial distribution.

This morning, the Ginsburg-Etal family held a meeting with the Israeli media and the Jewish-French media in Israel, for which coming here is a holiday.

Reminder: Ivan Atal is a Jew, who was born in Israel and left it for France when he was a child;

Ginsburg is Jewish on her father's side - the legendary musician Serge Ginsburg, one of the legendary Jewish women in French history.

As fate would have it, these days mark the sixtieth anniversary of the deportation of the Jews of Paris.

Ivan and Charlotte also came here with their two daughters, Alice and Jo, who is 11 years old. "We planned to go near Vashem today, but then they told me that 11 is too young, and I trust that advice," said Ivan.

"We will come back here when she is older and then we will visit. It is very important to me that every generation in the family knows this story."

Family trip.

Charlotte Ginzburg in Jerusalem with her personal and professional partner Ivan Atal (Photo: Sivan Farage)

"My father wore the yellow patch, and he would talk to me about it a lot," Ginsburg adds.

"He died when I was 17, but my aunts who went through the war are still alive and still talk to me about the issue. I'm not a religious person, I had a mystical period but I have a hard time with religions. Tradition, on the other hand, is important to me and charms me. I have a strong affinity On my Jewish side, that's why I'm charmed that here my name is pronounced 'Ginzburg' and not 'Gainsbur'. Nowhere in the world is this done."

Ginsburg is one of the biggest stars in Europe - actress, singer, fashion icon and what not.

She is also one of the most well-known and beloved French actresses in France, but she is also a modest woman - truly modest.

Therefore, the warm hug she received during her visit to Israel surprised her.

She did not expect that so many people would talk to her about her works, ask her for selfies and sometimes even bring her gifts.

As fate would have it, she celebrated her birthday last Thursday, so it was actually nice.

"I didn't come here as a birthday present to get a hug, I had no idea that I was known in Israel so I didn't plan for it to turn out like this," she says.

"My birthday was on Thursday. The festival opened that day, but we weren't here. I wanted to celebrate my birthday in the desert, so I was there. We are a family of five and it's a bit personal what I'm going to tell you now, but we haven't traveled together as a family in a long time so it was nice to travel here together".

More in Walla!

"The film shows that even your brother or your neighbor can be a rapist"

To the full article

From Venice to Jerusalem.

From "The Blame" (Photo: Jerome Parbois)

I follow you on Instagram and saw that you uploaded a lot of pictures from here.

"I used to take pictures a lot at the age of 16, then I stopped. My sister (Kate) was a photographer, and she died a few years ago. After her death, I started taking pictures again."

Ginsburg has visited here several times in the past, including in the 1990s when Attal was photographed for the movie "The Patriots", but she has not been here for 15 years.

"I really wanted to go back because I have magical memories. I also specifically wanted to come to the Jerusalem Festival. My mother (Jane Birkin) was here before, and last year he also screened the film I made about her. I also wanted to visit Tel Aviv because I had heard so much about her And her nightlife, and between the screenings in Jerusalem we also managed to jump there. I haven't seen much, so ask me what I think."

"It's a bit embarrassing. I'm a fan of the Israeli chef Yotam Ottolenghi, but it turns out that he only works abroad and doesn't even have a restaurant here!".

"It's lovely that they pronounce 'Ginzburg' here and not 'Gainsbur'."

Charlotte Ginzburg in a conversation with the media in Jerusalem, on her right is her partner, the director Ivan Atal (Photo: Tom Weintraub Luke)

With all due respect to the provincial questions, we are also here to talk about "The Blame" - a spoken word film, which competed in the official competition at the Venice Film Festival last year, and in addition to Gainsbourg, some of the biggest actors in France also appear in it, for example Pierre Arditti and Mathieu Kasovitch.

It is also a charged film, which deals with a sensitive issue such as rape culture and does so in a complex way that presents all points of view, including that of the rapist himself, who claims his innocence, and his mother, who sides with him during the trial.

Playing the mother of a rapist is always difficult, when the rapist is played by your son in real life - it is probably even more difficult.

I ask Ginsburg if this is the most complex role in her long and prolific career.

"I don't compare roles, I always think only about the last role I played," she says.

"It's a role that interested me, because of the process the mother goes through. At first she declares herself a feminist, but when her son is accused of rape, suddenly she's not so determined anymore."

"Because I'm a woman, I get asked a lot of questions about the MeToo. I always say that I can't take one side of this story, the picture is more complex and that's what I like about the film, that it presents the picture in all its shades. The book focuses on the character of the rapist, but the film Much less problematic in this respect because he presents his point of view, but then expands just as much on the point of view of the young woman he attacked."

"As far as my father is concerned, the most beautiful memories for me are of the moments we worked together. I knew that it would not be easy to work with my son, but that precisely because of this, the reward would be much more satisfying. Working together with him gave me so much, and beyond the sensitive issues of the film, There is a scene in it where he plays the piano, and it was so moving for me as a mother to hear him do that."

And there is also this movie.

Charlotte Ginzburg in "Night Birds" (Photo: Arta)

Let's go back to the provincial questions: this year you acted in the French adaptation of the Israeli series "Ba Tiful".

How was the experience?

"It's difficult, I'm not used to series, because I haven't appeared on television except as myself in one episode of '10 Percent.' in 'Hatez' and I've known her since she was Ivan's Hebrew teacher in 'The Patriots' in the nineties. During the work on the series I also met Hagi Levi. I had no idea that the creator of the 'novel' that I love so much also made 'Batifol' He is so talented and I hope we will work together again."

"The filming was difficult because it was during the Corona. It was impossible to go out drinking at the end of the day - only to work. This is a very beautiful and special film,

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