Dinara Droukarova
Interview with Dinara Droukarova
The actress Dinara Droukarova, who lives between France and her native Russia, is at this year’s Festival de Cannes as a member of Short Film and Cinéfondation Jury.
You’ve been to Cannes several times, what do you remember?
The first time I came here, I was 17 years old, and everything appeared huge and magnificent to me. A few years later I came again with the film Balabanov, and actually everything was really small, it’s just a croisette, a palais… This place which transforms itself for 2 weeks of madness is incredible. What I also remember is having left just after the festival closed once, and it was sad, they’d started tearing down the posters, the party was over, and the curtains closed!
But in Cannes, it’s above all the screenings which leave an impression. I remember during the screening of Khroustaliov ma Voiture, people were leaving in droves, and yet it’s such a beautiful film. That’s brutal. I was also here for the screening of A Prophet last year with a friend of mine who is in the film, Reda Kateb. It was very moving, there was a standing ovation for 20 minutes. Tarantino was in tears just next to me. That’s what Cannes is about.
Today you’re a member of the Short Film and Cinéfondation Jury: how do you approach this experience?
It’s crazy! I tell myself it’s quite incredible. I started when I was a little girl in Russia with Vitali Kanevski, then after doing some cinema, I get to have the honour of being on the Jury. It’s a gift. I’m going to see loads of films, meet incredible people to talk cinema with… I love it!
What is your vision of the short film?
I think that it’s wonderful to be able to tell a story that will stay with you and move you in a short moment. I find that it’s a very difficult exercise. At the same time, that’s when you see talent emerging, and it’s magical.
What do you think of the different functions of the Cinéfondation?
It’s a marvellous support. Where else do you get that? Nowhere. France is wonderful for that, it’s a country which defends artists, helps them and supports them. In Russia that’s almost an alien idea. It’s great to give the possibility of helping young directors.
As an actress, what do short films mean for you?
It’s about meeting a director, male or female, who can go further. I’ve already made a few short films, and I’d do more if it was a challenge, something intense. When I receive a good script, I say yes, obviously! Like Léa Fehner’s short film that we shot together before the feature film Qu’un seul tienne et les autres suivront.
E.B.
