Movie Talk with Saul Dibb
Description
Movie Director Saul Dibb discusses his film Suite Française 2014 an adaption of a novel, derived from a manuscript written by Irène Némirovsky. The text was loosely based on what was happening around her when the German's occupied France in the Second World War. Sadly Némirovsky didn't complete her work because she was taken to Aushwitz, but her daughter after fully 60 years decided to finally read it and went on to get it published. The book was acclaimed globally and translated into multiple languages. Dibb says he wanted to convey a real sense of the time of occupation, the social unrest that went on within the community and the class system that fuelled further discord. Dibb describes the love story between a local girl and a Nazi soldier. He goes on to talk of his admiration for the cast including Kristin Scott Thomas, Michelle Williams and Matthias Schoenaerts. Next discussed is the television drama Bullet Boy 2004 about inner-city kids and their conflicts starring Ashley Walters. Dibb explains how they filmed the semi-improvised script and decided to cast both actors and non-actors to freely converse with authentic and energetic dialogue. Dibb wanted to convey the humanity of the situation, the kids had to come first and then secondly the escalation and the consequences of the violence that unfolds. Following this is The Duchess 2008 a period costume drama that comes across as 'modern and energetic'. Keira Knightly and Ralph Fiennes star as the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, a story about a woman stuck in a gilded cage. Dibb recalls the actors working incredibly hard to convey the repression and the trappings of social conventions at the time. Dibb shot the film in two different period houses that contrasted, reflecting the differences between the Duke and Duchess. Dibb goes on to talk about the limitations of the British film industry, finding projects that are universal and the struggles for young film makers - not just financially, but in the wider terms of distribution. Dibb points out however, that the rise and ever increasing popularity of TV is broadening the landscape.