Exclusive Interview: Michel Rousseau (Vortex The Dawn of Sovereignty)
Watch Vortex The Dawn of Sovereignty on Amazon Prime
What made you want to get involved in the film industry?
The reason I decided to make a film was to bring something different from what we are used to seeing. I find it more and more difficult to watch movies where the main purpose is entertainment. We’ve all seen movies that we forget just minutes after watching them. You know this kind of movie that you don’t want to see a second time and whose title you will quickly forget in a few minutes. I wish people love my movie or hate it. There is nothing worse than indifference and partaking in the soup. Watch all those superhero fan service movies. Today we consume a film in the same way as music. Have you also known that time when a movie was released in theaters it was a real event? Everyone talked about it in the playgrounds because these films referred to our own existence. Of course, there are still pearls of this kind that come out from time to time: think of the impact of The Matrix, The Agency, Truman Show or the Black Mirror series for example. These are what I call violent films. For me, the real violence does not necessarily manifest itself in the physical world but through the impact on our thought systems which find themselves destabilized, shattered into a thousand pieces. This is what interests me. I don’t pretend that I made a good movie, but I designed it in such a way that it has to be watched a few times before I fully understand it. If you watch it while eating or doing the dishes at the same time, this movie will end its life in a trash bag. This is how I would like directors to work today: to ensure that their work lasts over time and that we stop making disposable consumer products. Also this film does not respect the classic diagrams, the famous magic formula, the structure which one finds in all the books dealing with the conception of a scenario. I have read several of these books. They are interesting because it is necessary to know the rules before breaking them. So don’t expect to see a Saturday night entertainment movie. It is a spiritual, philosophical film about our holographic world. This is not a mainstream film because it is aimed at people initiated into these concepts. It was designed to get the viewer to think about the design of this Matrix and how to regain their own sovereignty without being a slave to the programmed scenario.
From script–to–screen, how close did VORTEX the dawn of sovereignty come to its original vision?
I must admit that I hate story boards where everything is perfectly framed, perfectly defined, programmed to leave no room for surprise, the unexpected, and instinct.
I had my script, my dialogues printed on paper before shooting a scene, but for me it is a basis for work. There is nothing sadder than following a recipe book without giving it that personal touch, something new or surprising. When I shoot my scenes, I myself want to be surprised by what is happening in front of my eyes. I love soaking up the surroundings of a scene, the natural lighting, finding last minute tips, for the actors to suggest ideas to feel more comfortable with their character. The experience of filming is what gives life to the film, and in my opinion, we must not restrict all these moments by wanting at all costs to make it into a school recitation learned by heart from a poem. Also the advantage of making your own children play is that I know them well and I know when they are sincere and true in their game. Here again, I could very well have asked them to play “in the manner of By trying to make their expressions totally formatted like in most movies. No, I would just tell them “in real life you don’t usually react that way.” To help them I invited them to imagine situations comparable to everyday life and I saw very well if they were natural or if they forced themselves. What matters to me is rediscovering their behaviors that I usually see on a daily basis. So I have once again a different approach from the usual formatting where actors are chosen only for their physique, their popularity or because they know very well how to play the role of a villain and therefore, they fit perfectly into the boxes of forms.
What was your favorite day on set and why?
I worked 4 years day and night on this film. I often say in interviews that this is the artistic work of my life. I sincerely gave everything during these 4 years. I got up with this movie, I ate while thinking about this movie, I worked up to 18 hours a day. I had big moments of doubt, fed up. You have to remember that I made this film from A to Z. It was a real challenge to deal with the scenarios, direction, CGI animations, musical compositions, actor, also perform different voices in the film. So I had some very strong moments where I had to constantly question myself, try to have an outside look at what I was doing. In fact, I can’t bring up a particular day because the tasks were so diverse that I was never bored and I hope it shows in this movie. It was crazy work, I destroyed my health, I made the sacrifice of 4 years of my life to live like a zombie locked up sometimes for 18 hours in a row producing special effects, composing music etc… It has simply been the most rewarding artistic experience of my life. You know, if I have to calculate the number of shooting days, it must be 15 days maximum. The rest of the 4 years was in my studio, in front of a screen.
What scene did you enjoy directing the most?
The scenes in which the children play, especially the one in which Serena meets her double Yenos. It’s funny how Yenos and Serena complement each other. Serena is serious, lost and wants to find our world as soon as possible while her double Yenos is happy to finally meet her. He is excited that she can finally hear him and he feels useful. Imagine one day meeting your double who lives in a parallel dimension and who has been waiting for this moment since birth. The filming with the children is the most memorable because there are always surprises. I have to admit that I am not easy going on shoots because children above all want to have fun so I had to reframe them all the time. Funny, I was reading an article a few days ago which explained that the shooting of the first Harry Potter movie was a real nightmare because the children were always dissipated. When editing they were forced to leave only very short shots so as not to see that the children were out of control. I understand very well the stress this can cause, but it is also these special moments that we remember and that make us laugh in retrospect, moments that the spectators will not see. I am also fortunate to live in a beautiful place in the south of France. All the scenes were shot in the early evening of the summer because the natural lighting was beautiful with all these ocher-colored facades. And that was also the time when you could be quiet without passers-by stopping to wonder what was going on. You know, when you find yourself alone with 2 actors that you know well, without a whole film crew of 15 around you, without lighting and tons of material around you, you are not in the game at all. same atmosphere. You are not in a movie, you are capturing the real without artifice. You see the sun slowly going down as you turn. The cicadas are singing. You say to yourself that if the scene is not terrible, you can come back the next day because there are not thousands of dollars at stake. It is in these moments that you say to yourself: I am lucky. ‘be free. It is the moments of freedom that are the most important and the most enjoyable.
What is the biggest obstacle you faced while making VORTEX the dawn of sovereignty?
The biggest obstacle was the 3D character animation. Creating scenes mixing 3D characters with real actors is a real challenge when you are alone. You should know that for 4 to 5 seconds of animation, that represents 2 days of work from morning to night in front of a computer. Everything was optimized because I exported my animations while I was sleeping. I did everything to not waste a single hour of the day. When I got up in the morning, the computer had exported the footage but often with hindsight you realize that the lighting is not good, that the animation is jerky or that the Face Capture did not work well in the background. final and you have to waste another 2 days doing everything over again. In those moments, you say to yourself “what did I get myself into?” I will never be able to finish this movie “but a few minutes later you find yourself in front of the screen saying to yourself” I think I will take this opportunity to do something better than what I had originally planned “.
What was your proudest moment during production?
I am proud of the universe I have created. The costumes, the characters, the special effects, the music. It is this alchemy between the Sci-Fi universe, Steampunk and Cyberpunk that makes this film have a personality, a particular universe. All this mixed with philosophical dialogues, I do not know of any other comparable film. I worked every shot frame by frame and honestly, there isn’t a single minute in this movie where there aren’t any special effects. I wanted to make each frame fit into this particular universe and when I see the rendering with this grading that is both dark and very colorful, I think this film has a soul, a personality. I wanted to create a unique concept both in substance and in form.
I am also proud to have had my family members participate in this project and know that in total only 7 people participated in this film. We are far from the 400 or 500 people of big productions. Everything was shot a maximum distance of 7 kilometers from my house and I was alone with my computer doing the special effects, editing, color grading, music. There too, I did not go running to the end of the world to achieve my goal.
How do you get a film to stand out in the crowd in today’s landscape?
You just have to realize what you have deep in your heart. Do you know what is the first question I am usually asked in interviews? How much did your film cost and how did you manage to achieve this with so little money? I keep hearing viewers say “such and such a movie is not good, you can see they had no budget”. People are now only talking about money and a lot of filmmakers want to copy what has already been done or even make remakes because they are unwilling and unable to take any risks. Again, these days it’s just the words producer profits and spectator entertainment that matter. The problem is, they monopolize and invade cinemas with their productions. Where is the art and the message? We have gone very far in the search for aesthetics, realism, special effects, but the problem is that today we only talk about that, the form and not the substance. Is it too much to ask to learn something from a movie rather than lying in a chair watching guys fight for an hour? Above all, a film must convey a message to the viewer, something that will allow him to evolve in his life. I’m not criticizing entertainment films, I’m just saying there’s almost more than that when one should be overwhelmed with daring? So it’s up to us, small independent directors to make our difference, to bring something new, to show that viewers are better than that. It is totally wrong to say that everything was done in the movies. Watch the few spiritual movies that are coming out these days when this universe is so vast! The genre is not even recognized: my film is classified in boxes, in science fiction, horror while I do not recognize these ratings for my film at all. I understand very well that a regular in Science Fiction can be disappointed by seeing my film because he will expect exterminating aliens, explosions that appear from everywhere, battles with spaceships, computers that rule all of society. . These codes and all these patterns that have invaded art should be broken.
What other filmmakers inspire you to do what you do?
Chris Carter, Wachowski sisters, David Fincher, David Lynch, Peter Weir, Rod Serling because their productions echo our lives. They appeal to certain philosophical notions and an interior dialogue takes place with the viewer. I like directors who ask viewers questions and this is the most difficult exercise for a film. What a terrible impact when Serling or Hitchcock film themselves in front of the camera to challenge the viewer! In fact, I took up this concept in my film “Vortex the dawn of sovereignty” because the power of the speech suddenly becomes disproportionate and you push the limits of the camera frame. We have the impression of moving from the world of fiction to that of documentaries, we break down barriers and codes.
What is your favorite decade in movie history and why?
I am thinking of the period 1995/2005. The Game, Fight Club, V for Vendetta, Gattaca, The Truman Show, Vanilla Sky, Matrix… Curiously this type of film which makes us understand that we live in a hologram and that there exists behind the scenes an elite which directs the world have multiplied. I was fascinated and even today these are the themes that appeal to me the most. All of these films have in common that our free will is muzzled and we live like ants.
What is the next step in your filmmaking career?
I need to test the waters to find out if what I’m creating was of interest. With the film’s success in festivals (currently 18 international festivals have chosen me), I gain self-confidence. I tell myself that the subjects I tackle in this first film and the way in which I stage them are of interest to the spectators as well as to professionals in the sector. If I have to make a new film, I would like to keep my independence. These 4 years have worn me out but I am proud to have gone through with my idea without any interference, any brake. No one to tell me: “you shouldn’t include this scene” or “if you talk about that, you lose your grants”. I don’t have a specific idea on my next project yet but I don’t worry, ideas will definitely come. Again, it will be all or nothing: either I bring something new, a really different angle from the ambient production, or I will simply abstain.