I Want to Talk About Duras Vous ne désirez que moi
by Claire Simon
Claire Simon will be attending
In competition 2021
Official synopsis
In October 1982, Yann Andréa asked Michèle Manceaux to interview him. He had been Marguerite Duras' partner for two years; he was 38 years younger than her, and Michele, a journalist and writer, was Marguerite’s accomplice and neighbor. They met on the first floor of the house in Neauphle and Yann's first sentence was “I would like to talk about Duras”.
The programmer’s eye
Haunted by Swann Arlaud and Emmanuelle Devos’ performances, “I Want to Talk About Duras” is something to listen to as much as to watch. This is what Claire Simon is interested in: the troubling words of a man under influence as much as the way they’re received, which proves full of desires and visions. The director offers this encounter a subtle setting, through subtle lighting, the skilful emergence of archive and a sensory staging where the penetrability of spaces by the sound re-enacts relations of domination. She explores another aspect of Duras, and adds a fascinating stone to her filmographic dialogue between documentary and fiction. — Mathilde Guitton-Marcon
Biography and Filmography
Claire Simon made her first self-taught short films at the end of the 1970s. Her time at Ateliers Varan proved to be decisive: she discovered the virtues of direct cinema there. In 1991, she signed a noteworthy fiction series for the small screen, “Scènes de ménage”, then a year later, the documentary “Récréations”. She made a name for herself with “At All Costs” (1995), then directed her first feature-length fiction film, “A Foreign Body” (1997). Seizing on authentic stories, which testify to her taste for the romantic, she made “800 KM of Difference” (2001) and “Mimi” (2002), then returned to the field of pure fiction with “On Fire” in 2006. In 2008, she produced “God’s Offices”, where famous actresses play family planning counselors. This characteristic can also be found in “Gare du Nord” (2013). She was nominated for the Louis-Delluc Prize in 2016 for her documentary “The Woods Dreams Are Made Of”. “The Competition” received the Prize for Best Documentary Film at the Venice Biennale 2016. After the documentaries “Young Solitude” (2018), “Le village” (2019) and “Garage, des moteurs et des hommes” (2021), her fiction film “I Want to Talk About Duras” (2021) was presented in competition in San Sebastián.
2021 - I WANT TO TALK ABOUT DURAS - Claire Simon - Director, screenwriter
2021 - GARAGE, DES MOTEURS ET DES HOMMES - Claire Simon - Director, screenwriter
2020 - THE GROCER'S SON, THE MAYOR, THE VILLAGE AND THE WORLD - Claire Simon - Director
2020 - THE VILLAGE - Claire Simon - Director
2018 - YOUNG SOLITUDE - Claire Simon - Director
2017 - RABBI SHAOLIN (Short) - Claire Simon - Director
2016 - THE GRADUATION - Claire Simon - Director
2015 - THE WOODS DREAMS ARE MADE OF - Claire Simon - Director
2013 - GARE DU NORD - Claire Simon - Director, screenwriter
2013 - HUMAN GEOGRAPHY - Claire Simon - Director, screenwriter
2008 - GOD'S OFFICES - Claire Simon - Director
2006 - ON FIRE - Claire Simon - Director, screenwriter
2005 - EST-CE QU'ON A GAGNÉ OU EST-CE QU'ON A ENCORE PERDU ? (CM) - Claire Simon - Director, screenwriter
2003 - MIMI - Claire Simon - Director, screenwriter
2002 - 800 KM DE DIFFÉRENCE - Romance - Claire Simon - Director
1998 - RÉCRÉATIONS - Claire Simon - Director1997 - A FOREIGN BODY - Claire Simon
Director, screenwriter
1995 - AT ALL COSTS - Claire Simon - Director
1992 - SCÈNES DE MÉNAGE (Short) - Claire Simon - Director, screenwriter
1990 - LES PATIENTS - Claire Simon - Director, screenwriter
1986 - LA POLICE (Short) - Claire Simon - Director,
1982 - TANDIS QUE J’AGONISE (Short) - Claire Simon - Director
Claire Simon, adapted from “Je voudrais parler de Duras” by Yann Andréa
Swann Arlaud, Emmanuelle Devos, Christophe Paou...
Les Films de l’Après-Midi
Dulac Distribution
Luxbox
by Claire Simon
Claire Simon made her first self-taught short films at the end of the 1970s. Her time at Ateliers Varan proved to be decisive: she discovered the virtues of direct cinema there. In 1991, she signed a noteworthy fiction series for the small screen, “Scènes de ménage”, then a year later, the documentary “Récréations”. She made a name for herself with “At All Costs” (1995), then directed her first feature-length fiction film, “A Foreign Body” (1997). Seizing on authentic stories, which testify to her taste for the romantic, she made “800 KM of Difference” (2001) and “Mimi” (2002), then returned to the field of pure fiction with “On Fire” in 2006. In 2008, she produced “God’s Offices”, where famous actresses play family planning counselors. This characteristic can also be found in “Gare du Nord” (2013). She was nominated for the Louis-Delluc Prize in 2016 for her documentary “The Woods Dreams Are Made Of”. “The Competition” received the Prize for Best Documentary Film at the Venice Biennale 2016. After the documentaries “Young Solitude” (2018), “Le village” (2019) and “Garage, des moteurs et des hommes” (2021), her fiction film “I Want to Talk About Duras” (2021) was presented in competition in San Sebastián.
2021 - I WANT TO TALK ABOUT DURAS - Claire Simon - Director, screenwriter
2021 - GARAGE, DES MOTEURS ET DES HOMMES - Claire Simon - Director, screenwriter
2020 - THE GROCER'S SON, THE MAYOR, THE VILLAGE AND THE WORLD - Claire Simon - Director
2020 - THE VILLAGE - Claire Simon - Director
2018 - YOUNG SOLITUDE - Claire Simon - Director
2017 - RABBI SHAOLIN (Short) - Claire Simon - Director
2016 - THE GRADUATION - Claire Simon - Director
2015 - THE WOODS DREAMS ARE MADE OF - Claire Simon - Director
2013 - GARE DU NORD - Claire Simon - Director, screenwriter
2013 - HUMAN GEOGRAPHY - Claire Simon - Director, screenwriter
2008 - GOD'S OFFICES - Claire Simon - Director
2006 - ON FIRE - Claire Simon - Director, screenwriter
2005 - EST-CE QU'ON A GAGNÉ OU EST-CE QU'ON A ENCORE PERDU ? (CM) - Claire Simon - Director, screenwriter
2003 - MIMI - Claire Simon - Director, screenwriter
2002 - 800 KM DE DIFFÉRENCE - Romance - Claire Simon - Director
1998 - RÉCRÉATIONS - Claire Simon - Director1997 - A FOREIGN BODY - Claire Simon
Director, screenwriter
1995 - AT ALL COSTS - Claire Simon - Director
1992 - SCÈNES DE MÉNAGE (Short) - Claire Simon - Director, screenwriter
1990 - LES PATIENTS - Claire Simon - Director, screenwriter
1986 - LA POLICE (Short) - Claire Simon - Director,
1982 - TANDIS QUE J’AGONISE (Short) - Claire Simon - Director