Selected for the Oscar-qualifying Cleveland International Film Festival, Sophie B. Jacques’ noir thriller short HEARTH (FOYER) tells of a woman who rents out her place to a couple whilst she is away, but is unaware of what has happened when she returns.
Take a look at the trailer below:
FOYER – TRAILER from H264 DISTRIBUTION on Vimeo.
FILM AND TV NOW had the pleasure of speaking with the director as she reflected on the impact and festival experience of the film.
FILM AND TV NOW: What was the inspiration and start-off point for Hearth?
SOPHIE B. JACQUES: A few years ago, I used to rent my apartment on Airbnb quite often, and one day, I accepted this one couple. The more I was looking at their picture, the more I was starting to regret having them stay at my place. So, to reassure myself, I thought: what’s the worst thing that could happen? Well…
FTVN: The film is about interpretation and viewpoint, both from the characters and the audience point of view, two key motifs of noir cinema. How did the script develop from concept to finished film?
SBJ: When reading positive and flattering comments from my actual Airbnb guests, I used to imagine that those might have a dual meaning, which I thought was both funny and creepy. In Hearth (Foyer), I wanted the viewer to see what the couple secretly did, while leaving Emilie (the landlord) with this peculiar, yet seemingly unfounded feeling that something is wrong. From the start of the writing process, the need for a narrative and dual temporality occurred as a must to me. At the staging process, it was essential that all characters’ appearances intertwine smoothly, so that the viewer feels like they could run into each other while understanding that they don’t belong to the same temporality.
FTVN: Tell us about your working relationship with your Cinematographer.
SBJ: It was a very rewarding experience. We met several times to discuss the film’s tone, our shared sources of inspiration and of course, the shot list. We only had two days to shoot everything, so thorough preparation was key. Jean-Philippe Bernier truly masters the art of handling a movie camera, which enabled us to achieve the moves and shots we had imagined, no matter how challenging they were.
In addition to his amazing technical skills, J-P has an artistic sensibility that pushed us to approach every shot of the film in a thoughtful way, so that the viewer could feel the emotion we meant to convey. We pondered the rhythm we wanted to create ahead of the upcoming editing process, almost as if the film was actually a song.
FTVN: What challenges did you face when putting the film together in terms of securing backing and finance?
SBJ: Hearth’s (Foyer) script was finalist at a contest called Cours écrire ton court organized by SODEC in 2015. We then requested budget for the film production to this same institution, as well as to the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec. Despite several refusals, we did not lose faith. The film producers and I were determined to bring this story to the screen.
Time has proved us to be right. Although the project ended up being partly self-financed, we received a tremendous amount of support from a team of talented and generous professionals and providers who made the film production possible, which deeply moved me. The process itself was very challenging, but it gave us a huge sense of accomplishment.
FTVN: Where did you shoot the film and how long did it take to complete?
SBJ: We shot the film in Mascouche, a small town in the province of Quebec near Montreal, in the house of my aunt Colombe and her partner Robert, who had just finished renovating their place. Their refurbished premises were exactly what I was looking for: large rooms, long corridors, multiple doors per room and a clean style evoking a Scandinavian vibe. It took three years to go through the writing process, two days to shoot (it was a real blitz!) and six months to perform the post-production.
FTVN: Tell us about your casting choices and your process in creating performance.
SBJ: While writing the script, I had a hard time imagining how Emilie (the landlord) could look like. Then I met Marilyn Castonguay during SODEC’s Cours écrire ton court competition. She was responsible for coordinating the reading of the scenarios in front of the audience at the very end of the contest. I already appreciated her work as an actress, but as soon as she entered the room, I was astonished by her energy, and I remember thinking to myself: that’s her. She later confessed to me that she really loved the script and that she would feel honored to be take part in the project. I was trilled, I had found Emilie.
For Alice, I had a clearer casting idea in mind. I wanted Alice to evoke grace, pureness and peaceful strength, that would contrast well with the dark side of her actions. Marianne Farley imposes respect through her elegance and her maturity, that brings even more power to the character. Although she is very friendly in real life, Marianne has given Alice an icy demeanor, that makes her appear inaccessible and terrifying.
From the start, I had imagined Tom extremely bright, with a curious sensitivity. When I first met Joël Marin, we had a truly captivating discussion, and I immediately recommended him to the producers. After a chemistry test we did with him and Marianne, we were all stunned by the authenticity of his acting. Joël’s drive is so unique and enigmatic. He had exactly what it took to bring an extra layer of complexity to the character.
Since there is almost no dialogue in the film, I wanted to prioritize meetings more than rehearsals. We met several times to talk about the story, the characters and their backstory. It helped building up the complicity between us and to feel more comfortable on set.
FTVN: Is dark genre film where you are most at home or are there other genres you’d like to explore?
SBJ: I’m truly interested in exploring other genres, but even then, I believe that I’ll always include a somewhat dark approach in my movies, as I think that there is a dark side in any tale and any character, which is a key driver in my story telling process. Nothing is ever all black or all white. Most importantly, fear is ubiquitous in our lives, though in varying degrees.
FTVN: How has the film been received overall on the festival circuit?
We just began our festival circuit, and so far, it has been really well received! These days, almost everybody has tried platforms like Airbnb, either to look for a place to rent when they travel, or to make money by renting their own place. As a result, many viewers shared their own experiences with our team during the festival circuit, which led to very interesting interactions. Hearth (Foyer) has recently earned the People’s choice award at Regard (Saguenay’s international short film festival), which is really exciting and promising. We also had amazing reactions at film festivals in Clermont-Ferrand (Talent tout Court), Vancouver and Cleveland. It’s so nice to reach the point there we get to share the fruit of our hard work with varied audiences and get such positive feedback. Going forward, we have very exciting news to be announced shortly!
FTVN: Finally, was Hearth (Foyer) conceived as a show-reel with a view to creating a feature version of the script and do you have feature scripts you would like to make?
SBJ: Hearth (Foyer) is meant to be a short incursion into the lives of its three characters. That’s one of the things I like the most about short films: you get to enter into a very small part of the intimacy of people. During the film, you gather very limited information about them, and at the end, you end up with a bunch of questions that you’ll have to answer for yourself. It’s interesting to me because it involves a lot of imagination from the audience, leading to different perspectives and opinions. The film keeps growing in the viewers’ mind, based on their own perceptions.
In terms of future projects, I am currently in the writing process of a feature film that I would describe as a horror tale inspired by childhood cinematographic references.
