Video Interview: Mia Hansen-Løve – Eden

[Editor’s note: This was originally published after the 2014 Toronto Int. Film Festival.]

The morning after the world premiere of Eden at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival, I arrived at a bar not yet open, located just above a swank bowling alley around the corner from the TIFF Bell Lightbox where I met writer/director Mia Hansen-Løve to talk about her latest film. Co-written with her brother Sven, the film fictionalizes his rise and fall within the French house music scene over the course of 20 years, portraying the drug fueled rave culture they grew up with with an attentive authenticity and emotional tenderness.

Though Eden is a fictional retelling, Sven himself has vetted the film to be an 100% accurate account of his coming of age that doesn’t exactly paint him in the best light. I was curious to ask Mia how the film came to be, if her brother had any apprehension about airing his personal woes and how he feels about the final product. Our conversation, which delves into the portrayal of cinematic time and inevitably veers into the film’s extensive soundtrack and endless club scenes, can be found in full below.