French films are being shot again in New York! With the opening of the borders on November 8, Noémie Lefort is the first to set foot on the Big Apple to shoot her comedy there. My heroine with Chloé Jouannet, Pascale Arbillot and Louise Coldefy.
This semi-autobiographical film tells the story of a Rouen woman who dreams of cinema and leaves for the United States with her mother and her aunt in the mad hope of meeting her idol, Julia Roberts. “For me, it’s a dream come true, explains to 20 Minutes the Norman director who signs her first feature film. And it’s all the more wonderful that New Yorkers welcome us with open arms. “
In the language of Molière
The residents seem indeed delighted to see a French film shoot on American soil again. Used to the demands of the cinema, they never intervene during the takes, but as soon as the filmmaker says “cut”, they press the team with questions. ” You’re French ? »They often ask in a language of Molière with a singing accent before taking out their Sunday vocabulary. ” Good morning, how are you doing ? “,” Do you want to sleep with me “and” wow, there, there! »Are then the sentences most heard around the stage.
Even the actress Patricia Clarkson, a simple passerby, stopped to congratulate Noémie Lefort when she did not know her. “She told me that it felt good to see the 7th Art come back to life after the pandemic,” says the filmmaker. It’s galvanizing to feel supported, as if carried by a wave of enthusiasm. »From Time Square to Greenwich Village passing by iconic places like the Carrie Bradshaw building in Sex and the City or the hall of the NBC studios, the young Frenchwoman, very concentrated, feels at home.
This euphoria does not prevent the team from remaining very cautious in terms of barrier gestures. “We are tested several times a week, which allows me to remove my mask to be able to be heard by my actresses”, specifies Noémie Lefort. Indeed in the hubbub of Time Square, we must speak loudly because the shooting must take place without disturbing the local population, nor the many tourists who crowd around. “The rules are draconian, insists the filmmaker, but it’s part of this great experience. »The only thing missing would be Julia Roberts herself come and say hello so that his happiness is total.
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