© Jean-Louis Hupé / FDC
Interview with Halle Berry, member of the Feature Films Jury
Whether she plays a Bond girl or incarnates Tornado in X-Men, whether appearing in a Kassovitz movie or one by the sisters Wachowski, no cinematographic genre can resist Halle Berry. The actor, who received an Oscar for her performance in Monster’s Ball in 2002, has expanded her activities, first as a producer and then as a director in 2020 with Bruised, and has several other projects in the pipeline.
What film(s) triggered your interest in cinema?
I guess that probably started when I was very little. I was a latchkey kid, which meant I was raised by just my mother and she was always at work. So my sister and I were at home alone a lot until movies became our escape in our small little world. It really started with movies like, A Wonderful Life, The Wizard of Oz and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. As I got a little bit older, Cinema Paradiso, Steel Magnolias, and Kramer versus Kramer. And then The Graduate with Dustin Hoffman. Being a young girl in America, those were the movies that made me realize I could dream, that movies had the power to heal me. I saw myself not exactly reflected but I saw my circumstance reflected. I saw the movie Carmen Jones for the first time. That allowed me to see myself in the cinema, which sparked my love of movies.
Which actresses did you admire at this time?
Angela Bassett , Meryl Streep, Jodie Foster, Glenn Close, Diahann Carroll. When I was in my early adulthood, Julia Roberts was someone I admired very much.
Who or what inspires you in your career?
I would say my inspiration came more from my fifth-grade teacher, who is my godmother and became godmother now to my children. She inspired me to have the courage to follow my own dreams and follow my own heart. And that’s something that has stayed with me my entire life. It’s allowed me to be fearless, courageous, to walk with a sense of integrity and grace in sometimes tough situations. I think all of those qualities are what have shaped me as an actor, as a producer, as a director.
What do you remember about the night you won the Oscar for Best Actress for Monster’s Ball?
No woman of color had done that up until that moment. So I didn’t have any real reason to believe that I would be the one to change history that night. Back at that time, whoever won the Golden Globe usually won the Oscar. And I had not won the Golden Globe so that sealed my fate. So I realized: “I’m going to go to the ceremony, I’m going to have a good time. I’m really proud of myself.”
So you hadn’t prepared this poignant speech paying tribute to the great black actresses?
No, because I really had made up my mind that I was not going to win. I was very shocked and just literally got up there and spoke from my heart and in a stream of consciousness. And all of those women before me were always on my mind because I thought every single one of them should have been there before me and they were not. So they were on my mind because I’m walking in their footsteps. And the conversation was always “How come a woman of color has never been awarded this honor?”
If you had to go back to the Oscar scene, who would your thoughts be with or for?
Probably the same thing. If I won one today, that would mean I would be the first and the second. No one has done it yet. I would still be thinking about all of those same things because it’s a real mystery. Why has this award been so elusive for women of color?
You’ve played in indie movies, thrillers, franchises, sci-fi… What kind of movie would you be thrilled to play in today?
I feel like I’ve done all the genres. What I haven’t done, as much as I would like to do, is comedy. And more action because I love it. I’ve got a film coming up with Angelina Jolie called Maude v Maude, I’m passionate about action movies.
After Bruised, would you direct another movie?
There’s one that I’m working on writing right now with my writing partners and I will direct again. There are many stories I have inside me that I know very well and want to tell.
As an actor, a director, and a producer, can you tell me about the cinema that you are dreaming of tomorrow?
I really hope, and I see that it’s changing, but I want to see more women — screenwriters, directors, producers — telling our stories from our point of view. Our stories and our characters get written through the lens of the male view of who we are and it’s not always really right. It’s a version or their interpretation. But I really want to see us as women step forward more. Where we write our own characters from our own sensibilities and we can see ourselves more accurately represented in film. And also with more women of color.
