Clouds of Sils Maria marks the third time
French director Olivier Assayas has
worked with his compatriot Juliette
Binoche since writing the screenplay for
her 1985 career-making role, Rendez-vous.
In a beautiful example of art imitating life,
Assayas directed this latest film while
Binoche plays Maria Enders, a French
actress asked to star in a remake of the play
that made her famous 20 years earlier.
“Rendez-vous was my first serious
assignment as a screenwriter and it was her
[Binoche’s] first big part, so we were like
two kids on that very successful film,”
says Assayas. “This movie reconnects a
continuation of my collaboration with
Juliette, and I think it’s a movie that allows
me to make a more profound, and possibly
more accurate, portrait of a woman, a
strong woman.”
Considering Gabrielle Chanel supported
artists and film-makers throughout her
life, it should come as no surprise that thehouse continues their tradition of
patronage by backing this passion project.
The film stars Kristen Stewart, a Chanel
ambassador, as Maria’s assistant Valentine,
and Chloë Grace Moretz as her rebellious
co-star Jo-Ann. “The movie is a portrait of
three strong women from three different
generations,” says Assayas. Another
Chanel ambassador, model Caroline de
Maigret, also makes her film debut as the
Chanel press attaché.
As co-producers of the film, Chanel
provided not only financial support, but
also the clothes, jewellery, make-up and
accessories seen throughout. “It all goes
back to the fact Karl Lagerfeld is very
much a film buff. He has liked my films
for a while and he was very supportive,”
explains Assayas. “None of this would have
ever happened without his benevolence,
his involvement and his general support
towards the project.” ■
Clouds of Sils Maria is in cinemas on May 7.WORDS: ALEXANDRA BROWNOn cloud nine
With the help of the house of Chanel, French film-maker
Olivier Assayas and actress JULIETTE BINOCHE
reunite after 30 years to create a film even more
POWERFUL and visually sumptuous than their first.100 – MAY 2015vogue ARTS
“We were lucky to
have people at Chanel
who were smart,
generous and got the
irony of using Kristen in
the film,” says Assayas.“[The Chanel shoot] scene is
about establishing her fame,
establishing the fact she has
this worldwide recognition ...
so the fact we had a real brand
to connect with Maria makes it
all the more believable,” says
Assayas. “The film was pretty
much written having Juliette
[right] in mind. I’ve known her
forever as I wrote the
screenplay that made her
famous in the 1980s.”
BENOIT PEVERELLI CAROLE BÉTHUEL