At the Karlovy Vary Theatre, Juliette Binoche introduced another film from her filmography, this time directed by Abbas Kiarostami, who served as President of the KVIFF Competition Jury in 2000. Binoche won the Best Actress Award in Cannes for her performance in the 2010 film Certified Copy.
The director invited the French star to Tehran. Although Binoche initially thought such a trip would be impossible given her nationality, she eventually accepted the invitation and flew over. Kiarostami then began telling her a fascinating story. “I trusted him. Then he told me that none of it was true. And that is essentially the story of this film,” Binoche recalled. Kiarostami told the story in English and was delighted she understood him.
The two sealed their collaboration in an unusual way. “I tore off a piece of paper and wrote up a contract between us. I put paint on Abbas’s finger and pressed it onto the paper as his signature. Then I did the same. That was our agreement,” Binoche explained.
“Before filming began, Kiarostami and a colleague acted out the screenplay together. They performed and recorded the screenplay on location in advance of the shoot. The day after filming wrapped in a small Tuscan village, the director came to me and showed me the finished film. He had been editing it throughout the shoot, so it was already complete,” Binoche said describing the unusual working method.
“Enjoy the film,” she told the audience. “I think it’s a comedy. Although at the premiere in Cannes, I was the only person laughing. I don’t know why,” she added.
