Inflight Magazine of Brussels Airlines

Belgian beauty

INTERVIEW

Image Rex Features

Movie star Déborah François talks to Renée Cordes about acting, travel and life in Liège

Late afternoon on a brisk autumn day, Déborah François tucks into a plate of frites and beef in the Danish Tavern, a bustling brasserie in her hometown of Liège.

This is Belgian comfort food at its finest and, like her mum’s cooking, is something the 20-year-old actress doesn’t get to enjoy often these days. She’s too busy making movies – six and counting in her three-year career – but today has time to chat before heading to London in a couple of weeks to shoot Unmade Beds, her first English-language film. “This is definitely healthier than fast food,” she says, eating her salad and sharing her chips.

If the other customers and waiters in the tavern realise there’s a star in their midst, they don’t let on. Then again, the blonde girl in the simple black sweater dress, her only accessory a simple clutch purse, blends in easily in this student-filled town. She works out regularly at the gym, adores shopping and hangs out with friends in Le Carré, a maze of cafés and bars constituting the heart of Liège’s nightlife.

By contrast, François is often recognised in France, where her films are better known and where she has twice been nominated for Most Promising Actress at the César Awards, France’s answer to the Oscars. There’s not an official fan club yet, but her mother diligently puts together a scrapbook of clippings when she’s not working at the local health commission.

François, whose dad is a civil servant, is the middle of three siblings. The family was never big on going to the movies, but all that has changed with François’ rise to fame. And there’s plenty for them to see. November 2007 saw the release of Les Fourmis Rouges (Red Ants), the first feature film directed by Namur native Stéphan Carpiaux. In it, François plays Alex, a 16-year-old who lives with her father Franck (played by Frédéric Pierrot) in an isolated village in the Ardennes forest. Obliged to help him after her mother’s accidental death, Alex leads an isolated life. But after meeting young Hector (Arthur Jugnot) she gradually learns to open up. Hector also opens her eyes regarding her relationship with her father.

“The most striking thing about Alex is that she’s very determined,” says François. One could say the same of François herself. She dreamt of becoming an actress since appearing in a stage production of Snow White at the age of five – in the title role, naturally. In 2005 she made her debut on the silver screen as Sonia in L’Enfant (The Child), directed by Belgian brothers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne and winner of the prestigious Palme d’Or award at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.

François was still at secondary school when she submitted an application for a casting call along with some 200 other hopefuls for the role of Sonia. “I liked acting but I didn’t necessarily want to do it professionally,” she says. Her only previous acting experience was a couple hours of drama class a week. After three auditions, including one in which she simply had to sit perfectly still, François won the role.

L’Enfant opens with Sonia returning from the hospital after the birth of her son, only to find her boyfriend, Bruno (Jérémie Rénier), who is a petty thief, has sublet their meager apartment without telling her. The two have a playful, almost childlike relationship, but when Sonia goes to register their son’s birth, Bruno sells the baby. As a result, Sonia collapses and has to go into hospital. Eventually, Bruno reclaims the child, but more importantly he redeems himself by taking the blame for another crime – admitting responsibility for the first time in his life. Like the character of the same name in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, in the end Sonia forgives the man she loves.

“I find Sonia is courageous without complaining at all,” say François when asked what she admires about her character. “Except for the start of the film, she doesn’t ask for help from anybody.”

After L’Enfant, François finished secondary school before continuing her new career. “It was a very busy year,” she admits. A year later, she starred in La Tourneuse des Pages (The Page Turner), a psychological thriller from French writer-director Denis Dercourt, which draws inspiration from Alfred Hitchock.

François portrays Mélanie, an unflappable young lady who’s out for revenge against Ariane Fouchécourt

(Catherine Frot) who 10 years earlier unknowingly destroyed her chances of becoming a concert pianist. Mélanie – who seems to smile without moving her facial muscles – gets a job as a nanny at the Fouchécourts’ home and is ultimately taken on as page-turner for the emotionally fragile Ariane as she attempts to make a professional comeback. The film is full of suspense, and the director keeps viewers guessing until the very end as to how Mélanie will ultimately get even. François’ confesses that in real life she doesn’t read music and that Dercourt had to shout “Now!” when it was time to turn pages.

Once she’d read the script, François prepared for the role by constructing the physical characteristics and mannerisms of Mélanie. “She’s very cold and has a smile that’s very light and mysterious,” she says.

The viewer never finds out what becomes of Mélanie at the end of La Tourneuse des Pages. After filming ended, however, François herself plunged quickly into adulthood, buying an apartment in Liège and winning a succession of roles.

François says she looks for something different in each role she plays and tries not to be typecast. She’s also able to prepare simultaneously for several roles without any problems. And, with a few films now under her belt, she knows what she likes in a director: “Someone who knows what he wants to achieve, a perfectionist.” She admits to being one herself.

Forthcoming films include L’Eté Indien (Indian Summer) directed by Alain Raoust; Jean-Paul Salomé’s World War II action film Les Femmes de L’Ombre (Women of the Shadow), in which her character, Gaëlle, handles explosives for the French Resistance; and her first comedy, Le Premier Jour du Reste de Ta Vie (The First Day of the Rest of Your Life), directed by Rémi Bezançon.

Off-screen, François relaxes by listening to music (a lot of rock, although she’s hard-pressed to name any favourite artists), dancing and singing (“I sing badly, but I sing for myself to get energy”). She also adores travelling, whether for work or pleasure, and last year managed to squeeze in trips to Mexico, Singapore, Greece and Malta.

After making sure it’s OK to smoke, she lights a cigarette and talks about the film she starts shooting outside London in a few weeks. Unmade Beds is an offbeat feature film by Argentine writer-director Alexis dos Santos that interweaves two stories of contemporary London. François plays Vera, a foreigner who seeks to rediscover romance after her boyfriend abandons it.

François admits she’s a bit nervous about speaking English in the film (albeit with an accent) and doesn’t know what to expect from the improvisation in which she’ll be partaking. But all that lies ahead, so she doesn’t want to reveal or speculate too much.

If François could play any role she says she’d relish the part of Thérèse Desqueyroux, the colourful protagonist in Francois Mauriac’s 1927 novel of the same name, who tries to poison her husband. Given her love of reading of all genres, it’s no surprise what profession François would choose were she not an actress: “Definitely a professor of literature because of the contact with others who share a common passion.

FR Beauté belge

Déborah François se penche sur un steak frites dans une brasserie animée de sa ville d’origine, Liège. Pour les Belges, c’est le plat national par excellence, quelque chose que l’actrice n’a pas souvent le plaisir de savourer ces jours-ci. Elle est trop occupée à tourner dans des films – six au total et qui comptent dans sa carrière de trois ans.

La plupart du temps, si des clients et les serveurs réalisent qu’une star se trouve dans leur champ de mire, ils réagissent. Pour François, c’est différent. On la reconnaît souvent en France où elle a été nominée à deux reprises pour le titre d’ ‘Actrice la plus prometteuse’ aux cérémonies des César.

Le dernier film de François, Les Fourmis Rouges, a été distribué en novembre dernier. Elle s’est bâti un nom lors de ses débuts en 2005, dans L’Enfant. Elle jouait Sonia, dont le petit ami sous-loue l’appartement commun et vend leur nouveau-né. “Je trouve Sonia très courageuse, elle ne se plaint aucunement,” dit François lorsqu’on lui demande ce qu’elle admire le plus dans ce personnage. “Excepté au début du film, elle ne demande d’aide à personne.”

Après L’Enfant, François a enchaîné avec La Tourneuse des Pages, un thriller psychologique du scénariste et réalisateur français Denis Dercourt. Ses prochains films à l’affiche incluent L’Eté Indien réalisé par by Alain Raoust, le film d’action de Jean-Paul Salomé durant la Seconde Guerre Mondiale, Les Femmes de L’Ombre et sa première comédie, Le Premier Jour du Reste de Ta Vie, du réalisateur Rémi Bezançon. Dans quelques semaines, elle va commencer le tournage de Unmade Beds, un film en anglais dans lequel elle joue le rôle d’une femme qui cherche à retrouver l’amour.

Hors tournage, François se relaxe en écoutant de la musique, en dansant et en chantant (“Je chante mal, mais je chante pour me donner de l’énergie”). Elle adore également voyager.

Quelle profession aurait-elle choisi si elle n’avait pas été actrice? “Sans hésiter, professeur de littérature pour le contact avec d’autres personnes qui partagent une passion commune.”

NL Belgische schone

In een gezellige brasserie in haar geboortestad Luik begint Déborah François aan een stevige portie biefstuk friet. Iets waar de 20-jarige actrice de laatste tijd steeds minder de kans toe krijgt. Ze heeft het immers veel te druk met het maken van films. In haar driejarige carrière zit ze al aan zes films.

Als de andere klanten en kelners al weten dat ze een ster in hun midden hebben, dan laten ze het niet merken. In Frankrijk wordt Déborah François echter wel vaak herkend. Daar kreeg ze al twee César-nominaties als meest veelbelovende actrice.

Haar recentste film, Les Fourmis Rouges, kwam afgelopen november uit. In 2005 maakte ze naam met haar debuut in L’Enfant. Ze speelde Sonia, wiens vriendje hun appartement onderverhuurt en hun pasgeboren zoon verkoopt. “Ik vind Sonia onvoorstelbaar moedig. Ondanks alles klaagt ze nooit”, antwoordt Déborah op de vraag wat ze in dat personage bewondert. “Behalve aan het begin van de film vraagt ze niemand om hulp.”

Na L’Enfant speelde Déborah in La Tourneuse des Pages, een psychologische thriller van de Franse regisseur en scenarioschrijver Denis Dercourt. Haar volgende films worden L’Eté Indien van Alain Raoust, de oorlogsfilm Les Femmes de L’Ombre van Jean-Paul Salomé, en haar eerste komedie, Le Premier Jour du Reste de Ta Vie, van regisseur Rémi Bezançon. Over enkele weken beginnen de opnames voor Unmade Beds, een Engelstalige film waarin haar personage opnieuw romantiek in haar leven probeert te brengen. Ontspannen doet Déborah François door muziek te beluisteren, te dansen en te zingen (“Zingen kan ik niet, maar zo geef ik mezelf energie”). Ze is ook dol op reizen.

Welk beroep ze zou hebben gekozen als ze geen actrice was geworden? “Professor literatuur! Vooral dan voor het contact met mensen die dezelfde passie delen.”

Leave a Reply