French Women's Film Festival: Jackie Buet on Women, Politics and Film

Off Our Backs, Jun 1997

French Women's Film Festival: Jackie Buet on Women, Politics and Film

For some, France without politics wouldn't be France. For others, Paris without the International Festival of Films by Women Directors wouldn't be Paris. When we put them both together we have the politics of filmmaking, film distribution and selection. Why do politics seem to be moving increasingly to the front of the stage? We caught up with Jackie Buet in one of her rare moments of tranquility. Sort of. Having lunch at Creteil's restaurant, she philosophized in between two bites of boeuf Bourguignon. The voluble, warm-hearted, and very French Festival's Director, replied forthrightly, and with tact.

oob: What are some of the themes representative of this year's film crop?

JB: Not one of the films is alike, yet there are many similarities. A real paradox. The emphasis seems to be placed on a variety of sexual relationships; censorship and society's hypocrisy; the family and its destruction; exile and the notion of transition from one society to another. People are no longer defined by nationality or frontiers and that is very new.

oob: Speaking of frontiers and nationality, how did you organize the encounter between the women filmmakers from Central and Eastern Europe? Are emotions still running high because of the war? Were there problems in getting them together?

JB: First of all, it took time. Exploratory work began four years ago. Letters and invitations were sent to those organizations in France helping the refugees from Bosnia, and those negotiating for peace. We began with Romania, as I had been there several times, and ties are close. We then added Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Albania, and extended the invitation to include Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia. I travelled extensively through Central Europe, except for Sarajevo, which was impossible to visit because of the siege. We wanted to show those women filmmakers living in such turmoil that they had not been abandoned. It's so necessary to care about them, especially since they remain almost unknown to most of the world. We knew they would be demoralized after four years of war. We asked ourselves: what are their feelings towards humanity? Is there something human left?

oob: What was the relationship between the participants?

JB: Somewhat complicated. A few women spoke to me individually about a film whose director they did not wish to meet. That's all. They are very "fairplay," as you say in English. But you can feel the tension. The Serbs are highly sensitized and preferred to be called the "Yugoslavians from Belgrade." These women do not feel responsible for the war, as not all Germans were responsible for Hitler. They do not wish to be assimilated in what we call the "Serbs." They feel attacked. We had to explain that it is not about them personally, but a result of the war. The Serbs, it is said, were responsible for starting the conflict. One day, perhaps, we'll know.

oob: Can't you be more explicit? Were there films objected to?

JB: Yes. A film called "Memories of Bosnia" which was made by a young French woman whose parents were from Bosnia and who had settled in France in the Sixties. She had never realized the extent of her Bosnian heritage. When the war broke out she was grieved and horrified. Her father spoke to her of being humiliated by the Serbs because he was Muslim. The peaceful vacations at her Grandmother's in Ex-Yugoslavia, the multi-ethnic friendships she had enjoyed there, were a thing of the past. She decided to interview and film those Bosnians who had taken refuge in France. The results are very powerful, disconcerting. One of the women from Belgrade objected strenuously because she said it was anti-Serb.

oob: What is your opinion?

JB: Superficially, some of the films are nationalistic. It's to be expected. That's why we organized a four-day Forum on the question of national identity. Forty of the filmmakers from Eastern and Central Europe were invited to attend. We wanted to discuss war and its effects on creativity. Can the cinema even exist after the war? How should filmmakers position themselves faced with an armed conflict? Is each of us, man or woman, defined by our mother tongue, our religion, or can we define ourselves in different ways?

oob: What do you think?

JB: I can't think alone. That's why I organized the Forum.

oob: But you have your own idea? How do you feel about it?

JB: Similar to Virginia Woolf. I live on Earth. I can identify with those whose ideas inspire me. Yes, I'd like to speak a common language with all of humankind, but I also think we must keep our individual cultures. Our diversities enrich our lives. But humankind is still prehistoric and that's why we continue to make war...too easily.

oob: Unannounced, the other evening before the scheduled film, you projected the rushes of a film dealing with African immigrants who were about to be expelled from France, and who, during a long period of time, took refuge in a church. What does this have to do with a woman's film festival?