Legendary actor Juliette Binoche is making her directorial debut with the feature documentary In-I In motion, which had its world premiere recently at The San Sebastian Film Festival. During a recent interview, the veteran actor spoke about how this new venture was frightening and emboldening at once.
The feature documentary captures the BTS mayhem of the 2008 dance theatre show In-I, which Binoche co-created with UK-based choreographer Akram Khan. Binoche recalled how it was the late Hollywood legend Robert Redford who encouraged her to make a film out of the show. She added, “After we performed at the BAM Theater in New York City, Redford came to my dressing room and said, ‘You have to make a film out of this piece’. He was so intense and passionate about it that I said, “Yes, I was thinking about it.” It stayed in my mind.”
Binoche also talked about the excruciating process of making In-I In Motion, which required her to transform 170 hours of footage into a narrative. “Sometimes I was very happy with something, and at other moments I was desperate because I just felt, “This is going nowhere.” I was a little bit in panic. The first cut was nine hours. I had to cut down and made pictures of each scene, because it helped me because I could visualize the film. Before, it felt abstract and the visualization of the scenes really was key to me,” she noted.
Binoche said that she would like her directorial debut to inspire people to try something new, adding, “Maybe this film will lead people to be creative in their lives and believe in a part of themselves they didn’t believe in before.”
In-I In Motion promises to give an insight into the show’s conception, as well as personal challenges faced by its co-creators for the creation. Besides directing the film, Binoche has also produced In-I In Motion alongside Sébastien de Fonseca at Miao Productions, while Ola Strøm at Yggdrasil is credited as co-producer besides Solene Leger under Leger productions.
