About 1996 ou les Malheurs de Solveig

Rather than faking teen-movie patterns (i.e. the quest for that first kiss…) or overlooking the nostalgic facet of her story, Lucie Borleteau leans into them to better imbue them with intimate material and set this period film - 1996 seems so close and yet so far - against modern bodies, those of young actors, to remind viewers both of the lightness and the weight of adolescence, the foundational virtues of friendship and the the crucial allure our first loves. The ending, a love letter to youth - in general and to her own -  is a confirmation (if there was ever any need for one) that, from a very early age, making films was much more than a mere possibility for the director. 

Lucie Borleteau’s interview 

How did you come up with the idea for the film? 

The film started with the proposition by Romain Rolland high school - in partnership with the city of Ivry and its cinema Le Luxy - to direct a film with juniors in high school studying film. I very quickly wanted to have the students act, and to draw them away from their daily lives with fictional characters, in a film set at a time they had never known, ten years before they were born: 1996, when I myself was a junior in high school studying film. I delved into a variation on a very dear topic to me, female desire, from a 16-year-old young woman’s perspective: seeking that first kiss, tenderly, seriously, at a time in your life when you always feel behind. 

Was it important for you to play with conventions to make them your own? A teen movie, or a coming-of-age movie? Did you have any references? 

While I was writing the script, I discussed with the class - much like I usually do with my team - different films that take viewers into the directors’ adolescence, like Noémie Lvovksy, Riad Sattouf, Marticia Mazuy, Cédric Klapisch, and Federico Fellini. As a teenager, I would watch Little Ones and Good Old Daze over and over and over again. I also wanted to go further in playing with different periods, and we watched Peggy Sue Got Married and Back to the Future. They all had a clear influence on me. I also delved back into my own personal archives: letters, planners, pictures, conversations with friends… Some scenes were made much like a film by Sophie Letourneur, with quite a lot of intimate material. 

How did you go about making a film that is both personal and involves pupils? 

I considered the pupils as collaborators in their own right. We read the script at different stages of writing, and I used some of the class’s feedback. We then held auditions to cast the film. And that’s when I discovered that Angéle would be Solveig. Some students didn’t want to act - or even to be filmed - and got involved, with their teacher’s help, in set design and wardrobe, which included researching the 90s. Others assisted the sound engineer and the DOP; we had a bare-bones crew and very limited means. With this film, we turned every constraint into creative fodder, and I felt utterly free.