CANNES CLASSICS – Orson Welles, Shadows And Light by Elisabeth Kapnist

2015 marks the centenary of the birth of Orson Welles, that magnificent beast of the film world. The documentary director Elisabeth Kapnist (Sigmund Freud: l’invention de la psychanalyse in 1997, Un écran nommé désir in 2006) has unpacked the life of the prodigy in a groundbreaking exploration.

Photo from the film © RR

When did you first think of making this documentary?
Welles is a highly complex and somewhat awe-inspiring character, but what could be more stimulating than taking on such a powerful personality? When I learned of his death in 1985, I felt a deep sorrow, as if I was losing somebody close to me. Then I read a biography of him and said to myself that one day I would make a film about him. And it was a battle to bring this film into being. I chose to shed light on the Shakespearean dimension of his life – there was something quite tragic about his story: “I began very high up and life has been a downward journey ever since.” His genius as a theatre and then film director very quickly run into obstacles – people wanted to cut the giant down to size and I was interested in capturing the way in which he resisted.

How did you do your research on him?
I’ve read a great deal and looked at all the existing archives. There’s a great deal about Welles in the States, of course, but also in France, Italy and Spain. I spent a long time writing in order to refine my aims. But as usual, things got shaken around along the way – the certainties began to fade and that’s how it should be. Between when I started out on the life and work of Welles and the finished film, a whole journey unfurled over the months.

What narrative methods did you adopt to avoid a chronological account?
I made sure the extracts I selected resonated in some way or another with his own story. The chronological element always catches up with you in the end, but I think the editing enabled me to make some surprising links and ultimately has an ineluctable logic all its own.
 

SCREENING

Thursday 14 May/ Salle Buñuel / 1pm
>> Go to interactive diary