“This is my 15th film, and without a doubt, the most difficult.”

– How did the idea to make a film about the passage of time, family ties and art come about?

– I wanted to make a film that talks about all of that. The idea was to compare today’s era to the era before 1900. I think these are two moments of huge technological innovation. Before 1900, electricity, trains, photography, movies… all of these changed painting and disrupted the way it had been done by the Impressionist movement. Today, since 2000, we have the Internet, social networks, smartphones, Instagram, TikTok, and artificial intelligence. All of these new technologies are very similar to tools that came out at the end of the 19th century, so I thought it would be interesting to compare them and see how similar they are.

– This movie is very visual, almost like a painting. Were you inspired by any particular artists when creating the aesthetic for The Colors of Time?

– I have been inspired by all Impressionist painters, but especially Claude Monet. He was one of the first to paint outdoors, so I approached him with an interest in the film’s story and his way of depicting nature. Before, the forest alone was not enough for me to paint, so Monet and the Impressionists’ use of color gave me a lot of inspiration. I also admire photographers who use a lot of color. After making my first feature film, I realized that color management in film is complex and that very few directors have mastered it. Almodovar, for example, is a great master at that, but not much else.

– What was the biggest challenge of this film?

– Making it was one of the biggest challenges. This is my 15th film, but definitely the most difficult. Working with period costumes is even more difficult. Moreover, reconstructing ancient times required a lot of documentation time and modern techniques for post-production. All of that made it more complex than any other movie I’ve made. In fact, before writing the script, I spent nearly a year visiting museums, looking at photos and reading books about Paris and Normandy in the early 1900s. From there, it took about two years to write the script, shoot, and complete the movie. Post-production was longer than usual due to the digital work, and it took three years from the time we started thinking about the film until everything was finished. However, I am very happy with the results.

-How have you constructed parallels between past and present, and what role does the search for identity play in both?

– At the beginning of the film, in 1895, 20-year-old Adele lives in rural Normandy. She wants to go to Paris because she does not know her mother and feels that she cannot grow up without knowing her mother. Her journey is like an expedition into the Amazon, but it is also a journey of introspection. Meeting her parents and thinking about her family allows her to get to know herself. Around the same time, in the present day, four cousins ​​discover an abandoned house from 1944. They find photos, letters, and paintings of their ancestors and begin researching them. The film stages a piece of introspection, similar to a psychoanalytic piece, that helps the family understand their past and their own identity.

– How did you decide to screen The Colors of Time at the Seville European Film Festival?

– When this film was released, I showed it in Rome and Naples, but the distributor wanted me to come to Spain to support the release of the film. Since the dates of the festival coincided, I thought I would introduce it here. Moreover, I love Europe and believe that cinema plays a role in European identity. The film is very French, but also champions European identity.

– Is this your first time in Seville?

– No, this is my second time, but this is my first time submitting a film to the European Film Festival here.

– As a director and producer, do you think festivals like this can help pave the way for a new generation of directors?

– absolutely. The goal of every festival is for filmmakers to get to know, be curious about, and learn from each other’s work. I arrived on Saturday and found that there were a lot of young filmmakers. It is important to get to know different generations and foster curiosity. I was able to direct because of the visibility I gained through this film festival. In movies, we believe it is important for different generations to coexist.