Following its presentation at the Cannes Film Festival, the documentary Salaam has the right to a special theatrical release. One of the directors, Ann Cisse, spoke about meeting Diam’s and how the film came to be.
It was one of the documentary events of the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival: Salam enjoys an exclusive cinema release on July 1 and 2 before being released on the BrutX platform at the beginning of the academic year.
Years after her music career ended, Melanie (Diam) chooses to speak candidly about his moments of glory, moments of doubt, failure, psychiatry, his search for meaning in life, and his conversion to Islam. He tackles difficult topics, talking about depression, suicidal thoughts and media pressure.
The path to inner peace and the transition to this new existence, which is far from glitter and show business, necessarily bypassed, Diam worked. Huda Benjamin (Divines, The Eddy) and Anna Cisse (Vampires) who wrote and directed this documentary produced by Black Dynamite and Brut. Met at Cannes, director and screenwriter Anne Cisse talks about this long-awaited project and what Diam wanted to convey to the audience through this documentary.
AlloCiné: What prompted Melanie (formerly of Diam), now very smart, to start this documentary project?
Anne Cisse: Melanie explained to me that it’s been ten years since producers approached her to create fiction around her story. They spawned movies or series, and I think he wasn’t ready for someone else to pick up the story yet. Often, when we offered him this type of project, we were content to tell the story of a rapper who stops after his transformation.
And he wanted to tell a post-transformation story where things happen that are rarely shown. When the producers came to offer him a project where he had carte blanche, he agreed. But he didn’t know how to make movies, so he met Huda Benyamina through her friend, Adele Exarchopoulos. And I came to the project to assemble the story as a screenwriter and director. And because we got along so well, we decided to co-direct this documentary.
Although the documentary does not go into detail about his music career, there are passages that go back to his interactions with fans, awards and concerts. Was it important to minimize this key part of his story?
Melanie doesn’t negate Diamy at all, it’s part of her. I think he’s blessed to have gone through what he went through and to have gone through it all with an audience that loved him so much that still loves him to this day. The first thing he told me was that he wasn’t very active on social media, but he talks to a lot of people in person. Community support is precious to him.
It was this feeling that he discovered when we filmed at the Zenit concert hall, which was more pleasant for him than when we returned to his trophies, which are more representative of the music industry, which was more painful for him. But we still feel that the page has been turned and there is no regret, resentment or remorse.
In addition to the Zenith concert hall, you often place Melanie (Diam) in large spaces or large spaces, such as the desert, throughout the documentary where we see her walking and moving from dark places to bright places. By staging this, you represent his thought process.
Yes, the documentary consists of two parts. The first part is very dark because we talk about psychological suffering, topics that he has never discussed with his mother. Very quickly, the film opens into brighter spaces, and this bias is explained by the fact that ink is very connected to nature. He talks about religion and Islam, but above all he talks about spirituality.
He found it in Islam, but you can find it anywhere. He wanted to take the public to places that concerned him. And if we put him alone and small in these great spaces, it is because he has finally become very small, from star to anonymous, to private and common man.
When you were discussing the topics she wanted to cover in the documentary, did Melanie set limits or veto certain aspects of her life?
No, he wanted to raise issues of psychological suffering. This was important to him because he receives messages from people in pain calling him for help, just like when he was Diamis. He wanted to say with this film “I’m here, I understand, I’ve been there, and we can go through.” He is not saying that his way is right or that everyone should follow it, but everyone can find their own way. He didn’t want to take the discomfort lightly.
He has always been more or less gentle in his songs, like in “TS” where we hear that he tried to kill himself. I was there when he was talking to his mother and you can imagine that Diam had a concert in the evening and the next day he was locked up with a scar on his face. It was important for him to discuss these difficult things that happened to him to explain that we can get out of it, but it can happen to anyone.
He is still an artist. That’s what surprised me when I met him. Diam has left the stage, but Melanie is an artist at heart. He always wrote, he is very poetic. And in some interviews, I don’t think he even realizes that he is almost crooning, singing his words. It is very natural and it was not by accident.
The documentary also includes a lot of testimony from people close to Melanie, who are not used to speaking and only stand on stage with their faces. Did Melanie choose her speakers?
Yes, he wanted to say those who were present and who lived with him, not friends of the occasion. He chose people who kept secrets. When I did the interviews, everyone was very excited. I’ve had them on the phone before, and that’s why the chiaroscuro bias is that we wanted to put the entire tech team in the dark to make the atmosphere conducive to conversation and word-gathering.
And then in editing, we realized that there was a lot going on with the faces, so we wanted to focus on that. And since they speak in front of Melanie, it was also a way to make people forget their veil. Because we are used to focusing on faces thanks to this staging and this montage, we forget about the veil of ink when it comes to it.
The documentary has a certain musical rhythm with Melanie’s voice narrating and almost bursting with images. Was it voluntary?
He is still an artist. That’s what surprised me when I met him. Diam has left the stage, but Melanie is an artist at heart. He always wrote, he is very poetic. In some interviews, I don’t think he even realizes that he is almost crooning, singing his words. It is very natural and it was not by accident.
He wanted to speak loudly again. Also, it’s easier for him, I think, to comment on the pictures than to be in front of the camera. Removing her voice allowed her to freely express her poetry, her feelings and emotions. Even if he was very generous in interviews.
Have you thought about discussing more political topics? He was the voice of an entire generation in certain political contexts, but he can still be today. His songs often return to the fore during periods of crystallization in French society.
Melanie now lives in the private sphere, she doesn’t want to make waves. He is the one who is in appeasement and more in reconciliation. He wants people to talk to each other. For example, my mother is a fan and when she saw the movie, she told me that I can’t find it anymore, she was so angry. And I said that was fine.
I spoke to Melanie about this and she was happy to notice the change. He wants to create a dialogue, he is not trying to create a confrontation. With this film, he found the right environment to facilitate this dialogue and speak his word without interpreting it. I hope and believe that youth has other modern icons.
Interview by Megan Choquet on May 27, 2022 in Cannes.
Source: allocine
Emily Jhon is a product and service reviewer at Gossipify, known for her honest evaluations and thorough analysis. With a background in marketing and consumer research, she offers valuable insights to readers. She has been writing for Gossipify for several years and has a degree in Marketing and Consumer Research from the University of Oxford.
