21/06/2002 - Speaks French director André Téchiné for Italian release of his latest film, shown at Venice Film Festival and distributed in many countries

A mere ten kilometers separate Marocco from Spain and yet this stretch of sea between Tangiers and Algeciras appears as an insurmountable obstacle separating Europe and North Africa. In a society based on permits and visas, this is a hot-bed of clandestine immigration.

Loin [+see also:
interview: André Téchiné
film profile], the latest film by André Techiné, touches on a number of important issues for French and north-African cinema. Issues that should concern us all.

»I was interested in portraying the emotions these people feel and not the sociological aspects of their condition,» said the director of No kisses on the mouth.

Is that why this film is based on sensations and not actions?
Yes. I have always been interested in portraying bonds between people who cannot be clearly identified, that applies to my life as well as to my films. Love, friendship, class, hardship.

And what about longing for a different place..?
A shared dream: the South wants to go North and vice-versa. That has been true since mythological times but also applies to the decadence of Paul Bowles and those who followed. The only difference is that Westeners are free to travel at will while the rest of the world is not...

Is Marocco still a centre for illegal immigration?
I can´t give you a number, but I know that many people cross that particular stretch of the Mediterranean Sea. They come on the Pateras, or boats of death and pay incredible amounts of money for the privilege of drowning. Hiding in the chassis of a lorry is cheaper but no less risky.

You show us Saïd´s escape to Europe as if this were a documentary...
I shot it as though it were the flight of a wild animal because that is exactly how it happens.

You portray Tangiers as a beautiful and sunny city where people can live together in harmony and peace.

The women of Loin are very different from what we have come to expect in an Arab woman.
They are fighters and live in step with our fast times. They are very free and independent.

(Translated from Italian)