For Film's Sake - Marguerite
An aging woman and her nurse develop a friendship that inspires her to unearth unacknowledged longing and thus help her make peace with her past.
Interview with Writer/Director Marianne Farley
Watch Marguerite here:
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
First of all thank you! With Marguerite I really wanted to explore something different from my previous film Ransack. Although Ransack is also the story of two people from two opposite realities coming together and learning from one another, they are very different when it comes to their storytelling rhythm.
The challenge in doing Marguerite was to try to tell a story without too much exposition. I wanted to play with moments of silence and things left unspoken to create tension and tell this simple yet touching story. The idea was to let the story unfold naturally without forcing any kind of resolution. Allowing the characters to just breathe and in the end, connect. It was quite a challenge!
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
I think you should watch Marguerite because it will hopefully open up your heart. If I’ve done my job properly ;-) it will make you think about your own life; about your hopes, your loves and your regrets. It will remind you that life is too short to cater to anyone else’s expectations of who you should or shouldn’t be.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Homosexuality has never been a taboo in my family and so I was raised knowing that I would be accepted and loved no matter WHO I chose to love. I have never understood why there is still so much stigmatization when it comes to sexual orientation or preference. But the reality is that it was even more of a taboo for my grandmother’s generation. In fact homosexuality was not only socially unacceptable but it was illegal in Canada before 1969. That is so unfathomable to me.
Love is universal and must be as boundless as possible. That is what I believe and will always believe to be true.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
Well in my first few drafts, the ending was completely different. It ended on a much more dramatic and “edgy” note. In fact, the film ended on Rachel (Marguerite’s nurse) making love to her girlfriend (Rosalie) in front of Marguerite as a kind of offering. I wanted to capture a most vulnerable and beautiful moment in the life of Marguerite. In my mind it was Rachel giving Marguerite this “gift” in order to help her make peace with her past. But in the end I decided to take the story elsewhere and to make the resolution a bit more subtle.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
I have been extremely fortunate. The film has gotten a lot of amazing feedback. The thing that touches me the most is when I hear from people that the film moved them because that is definitely what I set out to do.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
No on the contrary. The film was received favourably by most people.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
To reach as many people as possible and to open people’s minds and hearts.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Obviously the more the film gets seen, the more people it reaches, the more impact it has. For that I think it needs to be seen by as many festival directors as possible in order to travel and reach diverse audiences.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Obviously I would love for Marguerite to challenge people’s taboos about homosexuality but because Marguerite is the story of a woman who had to go through life hiding who she truly was from everyone (even from herself), the film also talks about regret and making peace with your past. I believe that regret and self-acceptance are universal themes and hopefully this film will inspire people to reflect on their own lives.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Is it ever too late to make peace with your past?
Would you like to add anything else?
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk about my film Marguerite. I think not only do we need to keep making these kinds of films but we need to talk about them and start important conversations… across the globe.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I have a feature film in development (Warriors written by Celeste Parr), a documentary on breatfeeding and a few other projects I cannot talk about just yet ;-) Marie-Hélène Panisset and I are also producing a feature film (Les Nôtres written by Jeanne Leblanc and Judith Baribeau, directed by Jeanne Leblanc) that we will be shooting this summer.
Interview: April 2018
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTIAQ+, scifi, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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Marguerite
An aging woman and her nurse develop a friendship that inspires her to unearth unacknowledged longing and thus help her make peace with her past.
Length: 19min09s
Director: Marianne Farley
Producer: Marie-Hélène Panisset
Writer: Marianne Farley
About the writer, director and producer: Marianne Farley is a screewriter/director/producer and actress from Montreal, Canada. After working in front of the camera for over 20 years, Marianne decided to take her artistic vision to the next level. She has directed two short films (Ransack and Marguerite), a few music videos and is presently developing a feature film - Warriors (written by Celeste Parr).
Key cast: Béatrice Picard, Sandrine Bisson
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists):
Social media handles: H264 Distribution
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/H264Distribution/
Funders: SODEC & Quebec Arts Council (CALQ)
Made in association with: ACIC & Post-Moderne
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?
Wicked Queer, Boston LGBT film festival (US)
NYC Independent Film Festival (US)
& some other cool places in Asia and Europe. We can't tell yet !