Vincent Lindon: “There was no shooting. There was no set. There are no words for what happened.”

The press conference for Pater, screened yesterday In Competition, brought together Michel Seydoux (producer), Vincent Lindon (actor and the Prime Minister) and Alain Cavalier (director and the President). The three approached the task mischievously.

Vincent Lindon  on the birth of the project

“We all have dreams. My dream was to be filmed by Cavalier. Alain began by filming everything and wondering what would emerge, and then the sheer drama and suspense of the film ended up telling us what we had to do, the scenes which remained to be shot.”

Michel Seydoux  on the production
“You’re always stepping into the unknown with Alain but you have to give him carte blanche. I try to make sure the production disappears and that the artists have total freedom.”

Alain Cavalier on politics
“There is nothing sacred, difficult or daunting about running a country. Anyone can do it.”

Alain Cavalier on the wish to film with actors again
“You film actors because they represent what’s best about humanity.“

Vincent Lindon on the development of his acting

“I take nothing seriously. Everything is tragic. That’s what I’ve learnt from Alain.”

Vincent Lindon on improvisation
“There was no improvisation. We knew whether the camera was on or off. As in a regatta, there are buoys you have to pass and between the buoys, you can do what you want.”

“There was no shooting. There was no set. There are no words for what happened.”

Alain Cavalier on the rushes
“We kept shooting and we knew that there would be moments of grace in the film. We set out to achieve a certain familiarity, a resemblance to real life.”

Vincent Lindon on the reception of the film at Cannes
“A 15-minute standing ovation, that’s what you call a triumph. In today’s language we sometimes mix up ‘bizarre’ with ‘annoying’. No-one expected this film to be a comedy.”