After last year’s Guillaume de Tonquedec, it’s Sandrine Bonner’s turn to be president of the 2022 jury of the TV Fantasy Festival, which opened yesterday in La Rochelle and runs until Sunday.
The actor, director and screenwriter, recently seen in the cinema in Voir le jour and L’Evénement, spoke to us about his role as president, how he will evaluate the many fictions in the competition, including Touchées, L’homme of. Our Lives, Vortex, La Cour and 3615 Monique and her relationship with television.
Let’s not forget Les Combattantes, TF1’s new event mini-series airing this Monday, September 19, in which she portrays Eleanor Devitt, a bourgeois who defies war and her family business in 1914.
AlloCiné: What did you like about the proposal to be the president of the jury for the 2022 edition of the Television Arts Festival? Is this an offer you can’t refuse?
Sandrine Bonner : Easily. We could reject it when we see the fiction presented (laughs). No, it’s obviously fun to watch all these TV movies and all these TV series. I consider it an honor to receive such a presidency. This is a big festival, more and more important. And television is very important in our life today.
Specifically, what place does television play in your life as a woman and as an actor? Has the small screen sparked your calling?
I grew up with television, it was always on. I remember there were quite a few movies on TV. However, of course there were TV shows. TV shocked me because my parents watched it a lot, especially my father. But I haven’t watched it in years. As it was very noisy, I preferred to play music. I was freed somehow, I didn’t want to behave like my parents.
But today I wonder again. Since there are all kinds of channels and platforms have landed in the audiovisual landscape. TV is not a part of my daily life, but sometimes I turn it on to watch a documentary, movie or series. I can switch from one channel to another, although there are channels I don’t like very much.
The choice of the festival is very rich this year, with historical series, social fiction, strange comedies, fantasy dramas and science fiction thrillers. Do you have a favorite genre?
Honestly, no. I am open to everything. As long as he says something, there is an emotion. Whether it’s laughter or sadness, I have to feel something when I watch fiction.
I like to laugh at the movies, I like to cry at the movies. I am absolutely not afraid of sad stories, I love it (laughs). I like to cry before a movie or TV series. I think that’s the principle of watching a movie: it gives us something. And the interest is to learn things. Television, like cinema, should also teach.
How will you evaluate the works in the competition?
I will judge them on their form. Form is important to me. I also judge the background, what it tells back, if there is any emotion. And at the same time, having done this many times for film festivals, I know that there are still often featured fiction and not others.
Therefore, I agreed that we will start with the first meeting to discuss and sort things out. Decide what not to keep because there is a lot of fiction in the competition this year. And if there are pieces of fiction that we hesitate about, the idea is to save them and discuss them. Debate is important within the jury. And we’ll see what’s shaping up as we go along.
In the last ten years, French television fiction has experienced a real leap forward in terms of quality and courage. Do you feel this in the projects you are offered? Are you in high demand on a small screen?
Yes, I have been offered quite a few. I have done a lot of television work. I find that there is a great deal of Unitarianism in France today. We clearly feel this leap in quality, there are real writing qualities in what we see on TV today and in the scripts we get.
You’ve appeared in singles (Stolen Children, Marion’s Law, That Night and the Days After) or an episode of Captain Marlowe in recent years. But we haven’t seen him in the series since the 2011 signing. What made you want to say yes to the mini-series Les Combattantes starting September 19 on TF1?
Captain Marlowe, for me it was mostly meeting Jose Dayan. The character fascinated me, I wanted to work with him. I love him very much. But I haven’t done many series, it’s true.
Les Combattantes, I went there because I really liked the writing and the romance side of this series. I also like the fact that the show is about what women were doing while the men were at war. Talking about the First World War and the women of that time, who are largely forgotten in history, from an interesting angle.
Do you love murals in costumes as a viewer?
No, it’s not really my thing, I admit (laughs). However, I loved The Crown, which is newer but still a costume saga. In my opinion, it is a beautifully made series. But these are the things that interest me. If it’s done well, I watch everything.
Did you see Le Bazar de la Charité before signing on for Les Combattantes?
No. And I still haven’t seen it.
Have you heard of Alexandre Laurent’s work as a director? They say that he is a very passionate person, can you confirm?
Yes, I confirm (laughs). He’s really funny. He is passionate, he trains the team, he is an extremely happy person. For example, he puts music on the set to train the army. I admit it helps. I don’t need music to play, but when there is, it inspires, creates emotion. And sometimes, as a joke, he can perform a piece of rap (laughs). He is very much alive. But apart from that, he is a very good acting director. He knows what he is doing according to the plans, he has the series in mind, he is very precise.
You play as Eleanor DeWitt, a bourgeois camped on her principles. What did you like about this character?
What I liked was his loneliness. She is a very dry woman, extremely strict, because she herself is not happy. He is attached to his principles, codes, bourgeoisie. In the end, it was all he had left. And it is also his pride that holds him and that drives him to corners.
But she is a woman who, despite everything, will gradually open up. He’ll have to do it anyway. It was interesting to play this evil. The relationship he has with his son is absolutely terrible. Even the education of that time wanted it…
Mainly shoot with Sofia Essaide, who plays your daughter-in-law in the series. How was the collaboration between you?
I loved shooting with Sofia. We were very close to the set. I really like the actress, the woman, I think she is beautiful.
Like the charity market, Les Combattantes is a large-scale series with titanic means. Was it impressive to be part of such a car?
It was great to see all these sets, these costumes. But the team was so tight that I didn’t feel like I was on a big car. Contrary to what I experienced on Luis Puenzo’s La Peste, a very long time ago. It was a co-production with the Americans, it was a huge thing, and the atmosphere on the set was not very friendly. I didn’t feel it at all. I was amazed by all these fabulous sets, I found it very enjoyable to wear these outfits.
Sofia Esaide confided that filming in a corset was difficult at times, so you didn’t feel that way?
I have had no problems with corsets. The costume designer made very flexible corsets for us. I felt very comfortable in Eleanor DeWitt’s costumes.
You started in the world of TV series with Une femme en blanc in 1997. What are your memories of this adventure?
Quite a pleasant memory. It was a very interesting topic. We see that the problem has been going on for a long time, as the series dates back to the 90s, we follow a woman who is struggling to keep nearby hospitals functioning. We see that not much has changed since then, and unfortunately it remains relevant. Maybe we’ll see the woman in white again (laughs).
Do you have any upcoming projects in film or television?
I will be in the cinema soon in a movie by Caroline Glorion. And I have directing projects, including one for the small screen. This is a mini-series adapted from the book by Valerie Hervo The underside of the candles. This series I will play, I will play and for the first time I will play my elder daughter, who will play in the young one.
Source: allocine
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
