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Christophe Rossignon • Producer

"It’s good to laugh or be moved together"

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An overview of the rich slate of projects currently handled by Nord-Ouest Films, headed by passionate producer Christophe Rossignon, who has become a leading figure in French film production over his 20-year career.

Cineuropa: What kinds of films does Nord-Ouest Films strive to make?
Christophe Rossignon: Some producers don’t fit their production strategy to their personal tastes but are more calculating: they’re business people. I’m not trying to point a finger at them because viewers don’t care a jot about the producer’s identity and motivation. Other producers, however, fit their production strategy to their frames of mind and personality: I fall into this group. I can go from a specialised auteur film to a comedy. I like all colours and I try to embrace the entire spectrum.

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What made you get on board Mathieu Kassovitz’s Rebellion (see news)?
I produced three films by Mathieu, then our paths separated. I knew about the project, which has been years in the making. Mathieu wanted to get back to his initial territory, a politically engaged film. When he realised he might burn himself out, he asked me if I was still interested in the project. Rebellion is a political film, with substance and force; a profound human film about a people who weren’t heard, whose difference we refused to accept. This isn’t unique to France. Portugal, Spain, England, Germany, Belgium and Italy – all these countries have had colonial pasts and nothing was settled easily.

Another political film is Vincent Garenq’s Présumé Coupable (“Presumed Guilty”, see news), which looks back at the Outreau case and will be released on September 7.
Vincent told me to read Alain Marécaux’s Chronique de Mon Erreur Judiciaire (“Chronicle of My Miscarriage of Justice”) even before shooting started on his debut film (Baby Love [+see also:
trailer
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), which I produced. This book made me cry. It’s normal to cry when listening to music or watching a film, but it’s much more unusual when reading a book. I thought to myself: this can’t be possible, it’s inhumane, what a story! We decided to make a film about this man, his personal diary, his descent into hell. A film that shows reality: the judges made a big blunder.

What stage are you at with Christian Carion’s La Guerre de l’Eau (“The Water War”), starring Dany Boon and Mathilde Seigner?
It should start shooting at the end of the year. On the subject of water, the film will get across to viewers what a complicated business it is behind the tap and that, in the future, we perhaps ought to return this essential commodity to public ownership, for it will become scarcer even in wealthy countries.

You used 3D for the first time on Michel Ocelot’s Tales of the Night (to be released on July 20). What impact do you think 3D will have in the future, including in fiction films?
This new technology will dictate how we watch films in the future, whether we like it or not. We’ll watch images in 3D because one day we’ll make 3D without glasses. But I may be wrong about this.

Will the development of new distribution media completely change the current distribution windows?
Movie theatres will refuse to die and get left behind without a word. Film professionals are enthusiastic about theatres, about making films that can be watched like in cathedrals, in silence and uninterrupted. Cinemas contribute to the communal aspect of film, it’s good to laugh or be moved together. The world is changing, but cinemas will adapt.

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