Cannes 2022: Meeting with Florence Di Concilio, new film composer Adel Exarchopoulos, and Super 8 Years

AlloCiné: You are in Cannes for two films this year and participated in a march between composers organized by SACEM: How do you feel about the place of music in cinema?

Florence di Consilio : I think the composition is one of the three pillars of the film along with the script and the director. Sure, there are movies without music, but even so, music still exists, if only with sound design, etc … there is always a sound aspect that has to match the rest.

I have never parted with the music of the film in question, for me it is a real whole, a work that goes hand in hand. Moreover, there are many parallels between the work of a composer and a director. In the creative process, the choice of actors and the teams that will be around him to help give birth to his work. They are two creators.

Do you think film music composers are enough?

Florence di Consilio : Things are much better and as a big optimist, I feel real progress! Fifteen years ago I got the impression that music was almost a taboo subject. Today the industry has developed a lot, with equipment, meetings, special events …

But it is true that there is still a long way to go. Without being obsessed with prizes, I think it would be nice if for the composers at the Cannes Film Festival it would be just to celebrate the recognition of the profession.

Can you tell us about your work on Leah Mission Five Devils and the super 8 years of Annie Erno and David Erno-Briot?

Florence di Consilio : At Les Cinq Diables, this is a logical continuation of my collaboration with Leah Mission after Ava. But the difference here is that I had access to the script at the time of writing it. I also had access to all the speeds and this is a very rich opportunity that I have never had. This allowed me to create music as I went, to start over time and to discuss until the final result.

For Super 8 years it was very different because these are archival images, so the film was already much more complete. It was another kind of creative process to find the right cadence, the right color, to harmonize the music with Annie Erno’s voice by emphasizing her narrative.

Two completely different and interesting projects that were carried out simultaneously, in parallel.

What was the reason that made you want to write music for cinema?

Florence di Consilio : I was a classical pianist and when I arrived in France, I met a director who allowed me to write the music for his film. And was a movie buff, it made sense. I remember the first music I created, it was for Arte’s documentary and there I realized the number of people who would be able to watch this documentary and listen to its music, I thought it was wonderful!