That lowng feeling
Controversial French filmmaker Gasper Noe speaks candidly about becoming Destricted and the joys of masturbation.
It's pretty clear what's going on in the top image, but the digger? Some kind of wank metaphor, we reckon
42 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE ‘ ' ._‘-'- Ada z‘
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‘ l all slai‘tcd whcn I mcl thc produccrs ol l/h‘xll‘lr'lt'i/ ill \t‘\\ \IllI'I'x. 'IiIIL'} il\I\L‘LI lllL‘
ill wanlcd to lakc part in a film madc tip of dil‘l'crcnl porn shorts. .'\\ it turns out I was onc ol' lhc lirsl pcopIc. along with Matthew Bill‘llc)‘ and lhcn I.arr_\ ('Iark to \a_\ _\c\. 'I’hci'c was oiin onc i'ulc that lhc lilm I madc should bc bctwccn li\c and 3f) minutcs long. although in thc cnd. somc of thc lilms such as (‘Iai‘ks is Iongci'. 'I'hc pi'oducci's also askcd it I had all idca lor lhc film. ()i'iginall) I had an idca oI doing a film about a babysillcr. btil in thc cnd l dccidcd lo makc a film about a ho} and girl watching a porn lilm in dil'l'ci'cnt rooms and masturbating. I was thinking about calling it HI'HI/lt’l‘ um/ .S'i'xir'r. but cxcnluall} I wcnt l‘oi' IIi‘ I'illt'lx xI/um'. as IIIL‘ litlc lakcs lhc itIca oI what thc film is about and it's leso a pi'iVatc
jokc with fans who know thc :\mcrican litlc of
m_\ Iirst Iilm .S't'ii/ ('mifn' 'liim which is / .S'Iulir/ I fuck iii-\scll‘. I thought it would bc limn} to show a guy tucking an inl‘IalabIc do“ as most llio\ic\ deal with scx in a lotth dil‘lcrcnl wa}.
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‘I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE FUNNY TO SHOW A GUY FUCKING AN INFLATABLE DOLL'
morc natural and all the men did not look likc lircmcn. To this da}. m} l'a\ouritc porn IIIlll\ arc homc moVics and not lhosc that arc made by pl‘oIt‘ssitillitIs. I don't think in} film I\ \cr) arousing. although somc girls haw said to mc they got cxcitcd w hcn watching it. possibl} that is bccausc you scc lhc man‘s pcnis. I do not lilil\Illl‘thIC watching in} own films; thc shorts in this collcclion are not porn. I think tans of sex l‘ilms looking for a thrill gct anno} cd bccatisc a lot of thcsc films arc onl) about masturbation.‘ lIntcnicw b} Kalccm Allah)
Destricted, Cineworld, 623 8030, 17 Aug, 9.40pm & 19 Aug, 10pm, 19 Aug, £7.95 (£5.20).
PROFESSIONAL VICTIM
Laurent Lucas is a French actor who can’t stop walking into trouble. Richard Mowe asks him why he loves playing the fall guy.
He may lack the soaring profile of Romain Duns as one of the hottest bucks in le cinchia francais. but Laurent Lucas is catching up fast. You know the face, it's rust the name that sticks; on the tongue. Lucas has been carving a reputation for screen angst from the moment he came to prominence in Dominik Moll's Harry He ’5 Here to Help as the pt’lIOl'IallllIlaS who bumps into an old friend With dark consequences.
There have also been art house chillers Who Killed Bambi? the stomach churning In My Skin and Calva/re. His latest — Brice Cauvin's debut feature Hotel Harabati (also known as De particulier a particulier) seems to fit the Lucas canon. In it he plays an architect who screws up at work. develops paranoia about Islamic terrorism as his relationship begins to break up (while he embarks on a gay liaison wrth a young singer). The film begins when the couple find a suitcase on a station platform, apparently left by a middle aged man of Arab origin and simply labelled Hotel Harabati.
‘There's definitely something about me that seems to invite troubled characters. I wonder why?‘ says a puzzled Lucas who. at 41. has been biding his time. ’Partly it's because I started in the theatre and didn't make my first screen appearance until 1996 (opposrte Jeanne Balibar in / Hate Love). Then I was hailed With a best promrsrng newcomer nomination for Haul les coeurs! But. of course. things really took off after Harry . . . '
Lucas, who has made more than 27 movies in his short film career. which started in 1996. intends to keep returning to his theatrical roots. ‘It was only due to a friend who arranged for me to go to some casting sessions that I turned towards film in the first place. Now, th0ugh. my ideal balance is to alternate between the two. What could be better?”
I Hotel Harabati, Cineworld, 623 8030, 22 Aug, 9.45pm 8 23 Aug, 7. 75pm, £7.95 (£5.20).