Interviews

Interview: Andréa Bescond & Eric Metayer – Little Tickles (Les chatouilles) | 2018 Cannes Film Festival

Published on July 11, 2018

A creative collaboration that began in 2009 when Eric Métayer directed Andréa Bescond in her stage debut, the association proved fruitful as the pairing would then bring Les chatouilles to auds in 2015. Winner of the SACD New Talent Theater Award and the Young Talent Theater Award from the Académie française; shortly after a successful run, the pair would adapt the project for the big screen.

A chronologically scrambled story, the lines between fantasy, memory and reality are sometimes murky in Little Tickles (Les chatouilles) – the Un Certain Regard preemed project which sees Bescond wear multiple hats. Dealing with childhood sexual abuse and its toxic consequences, the film explores the dreadful darker facets with a sensitivity and intelligence that makes for an alluring post screening discourse. I had the chance to sit with the pair to find out more about their collaboration, inspiration, and their working strategy.

Amir Ganjavie

Amir Ganjavie, a Ph.D. in communication and culture, is a Toronto-based writer, cultural citric, festival director, community activist and filmmaker. Fascinated by the issue of alternative and utopian space in modern urban settings and cinema, Amir has published several articles on utopia and two books, one on utopia (Le rÃ´le de la pensÃ©e utopique dans lâamÃ©nagement des villes de demain) and the other on walkable neighbourhoods (Pour une ville qui marche). He has recently co-edited two special volumes on Iranian cinema for film International and Asian Cinema and edited a Humanities of the Other: An essay collection on the Dardanne Brothers (in Persian). Aside from academia, he writes for MovieMaker, Filmint, Mubi, Senses of Cinema, Offscreen and Brightlight. Amir is very active in the community. He serves as the CEO of CineIran Festival and Phoenix Cultural Centre of Toronto. He is also the founding member of NaMaNa Cinema. He has recently directed/produced a long feature film in Canada, named Pendulum. His top 2 theatrical release for 2017: IldikÃ³ Enyedi's On Body and Soul and Michel Hazanavicius's Redoubtable.