07/07/2025 - The filmmaker's exuberant short film is a playful musical that will soon have its world premiere as part of EFP's Future Frames at Karlovy Vary

Karaokiss follows Lucette (as well as Lucette’s fairy, who just wants to look after her) as she works at a karaoke bar. When an old flame enters the bar, Lucette finds her world upended. How will Lucette – and her fairy – deal with the return of a lost love? Filled with spark and energy, Karaokiss is a glittery and fun delight which reminds us of the resiliency of both the human heart and the human vocal cords.

Director Mila Ryngaert completed her directing studies at the Institut des Arts de Diffusion (IAD) in Belgium and Karaokiss represents her graduation film and is currently poised to have its World Premiere as part of the 59th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival as part of EFP's Future Frames.

Cineuropa: What inspired you to take the musical/magical approach with Karaokiss as opposed to a more realist angle?
Mila Ryngaert: The magical approach came because I wanted to talk about anxiety, so invoking fantasy allowed me to personify the inside of our feelings. Also, I’m convinced that movies are here to play with reality, not imitate it.

I grew up with two big inspirations: fairy tales and Jacques Demy’s movies. Here, the fairy is a modern tribute to the fairy godmother in Donkey Skin [Peau d’âne (1970)]. 1998’s Jeanne and the Perfect Guy (Olivier Ducastel, Jacques Martineau) was another inspiration as each song of this musical is written with a different musical style, as in Karaokiss.

Tell us about the nature of your collaboration with composer Ludovic Bauloye?
Ludovic Bauloye permitted the existence of this musical, as the beginning of our collaboration was the starting point of the project. I had the desire to write and direct a musical for so long but I was not feeling confident enough to do it as I know nothing about music composition. I mentioned it to Ludovic as a hypothetical dream and we decided to do it for real.

We did everything with nothing, recording ourselves as singers to make prototypes (you can find on Spotify the musical mockup of ‘Le temps s’arrête’ with our voices). Not only did he follow me in my crazy ideas, but he transformed them by being very proactive artistically.

How did you cast your leads? It always seems to me there is a different approach for a straight dramatic role and something that is little bit more esoteric.
I don’t really like casting as I find it harsh to judge someone in such a short time, so we tried to make the casting sessions as long and as casual as possible. For the fairy, I'd already collaborated with Maïlys Dumon and I wrote the scenario thinking about her, so it felt more like a matter of course. For Lucette and Diana, I asked the actresses to choose what role they felt more comfortable working with. Then, we saw them in a duo. It felt more freeing this way, and it allowed us to do improvisations.

My favourite part of the casting process was that I asked them to bring a song that they liked and that felt like the character and to sing it a capella to the other girl as their protagonist. As I wanted to embrace the fact that the musical was in a karaoke, I was looking more for their presence than them being perfect singers. I had a lot of fun during casting, it was really important for me to really spend time with the actresses and I met some wonderful people.

Tell us about the shooting – it seems like you shot in quite a confined space. How did you go about utilising the space to keep the film fresh and exciting?
It was really nice to shoot within a single set because the place felt like home as we didn’t have to run everywhere to switch places, we had the chance to install a technical ceiling and to take time on the decoration. 

In the script, I envisioned the bar as a character, as an extension of Lucette. The concept of a unique place was necessary to allow the ending. We somehow managed to create different spaces with different lighting moods – as for the rap scene in the back kitchen – to energise the film.

What projects are you working on next?
I’m currently working on my first documentary, produced by the CVB (Brussels Video Centre). The project takes place within a theatre troupe where we follow the creation of a play based on the lived experiences of the troupe's members, from their first sharing of their stories to the first steps of their staging.

In parallel, I’m writing a second short fiction on the necessity of female friendship to find a path as a young girl in a chaotic and sexist world.