Worldwide Women's Film Festival / Nevada Women's Film Festival 2020 – La parure (The Necklace)
What happens when a nightmare and a beautiful dream meet in one night?
When Mathilde fulfills her dream to go to the greatest ball of the 19th century, she loses the diamond necklace she borrowed from her friend. Mathilde's life suddenly changes when she has to pay off with hard work the heavy debt burden.
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Shirelle Edery
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Making a movie was always a dream of mine. When I had this opportunity during my university years, I had to make my biggest dream happen. So, I decided to tell a story that was close to my heart. I always loved this story written by Maupassant and knew that I could tell his story with a different perspective, in an optimistic way. However, I had to tell this well known French story - La Parure, in the country I live in today - Israel. The task wasn't easy but dreams have no limits. Therefore, I decided to tell a story that every country knows and can relate to.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
La Parure is a well-known story that combines drama, dream, dancing, love and tears but this version has a fantastic twist that makes it a pure visual pleasure.
Besides, we all learned it in school, so the generation of today will tell you, better to watch it than to read it
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
The hero of the film might be an ancient creation of Maupassant, but the values that she manifests in the movie are relevant until today: the love she has for her husband, but always thinks that there might be more outside. The fact that she always thinks about how the world sees her, as a low class in society because she doesn't have a carriage or fortune. Today, nothing has changed with these values in society that ranks people by their number of likes on Instagram or by which brands they are wearing.
La parure is about friendship, love, compassion for each other and many more subjects that we can relate to nowadays.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
At first, I wrote the story exactly like it appears in Maupassant's version. I was very interested in the author and the reason why he wrote his story in a way that critics his generation. The more I read about the author, the more I understood our difference. I saw his story as a beautiful story and not as a critic of the generation. I saw love and a girl that dreams bigger than she can have, not a spoiled woman that wants more and more every time. And so, I changed my mind about the movie. I consider myself a very optimistic person and I purely enjoyed my work. I wanted the joy to be reflected in the movie, without losing the critical aspects drawn by Maupassant.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
In the beginning, people really made me feel bad about my idea. They said that I am a big dreamer and that my ambition of making a historical movie is completely impossible. How it is possible to bring the 18th century France in a completely different country that has no places similar to that?
But I am a stubborn person and I did not listen to these obstacles, even if there were many. When the movie finally went out after years of hard work with a very tiny team of dreamers like me, we felt like we made it. And from that moment, I kept receiving good feedbacks and support to continue making movies. I want to inspire people with my favorite sentence: If you dream big enough, you can do and be everything.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Deep inside, I always hoped to change the point of view of people. Sometimes people with more experience in the cinematographic world will think they know best and believe that if an idea is not possible in their eyes, they must be right. But I believed in myself and wanted to show them than I can do anything. I knew that I would make a very special movie. So, after such hard work, I believed that I would receive good feedback even from those people. I am very proud today to know that this is what happened.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I am interested in letting people know about my movie has much as I can. The more I can show it and talk about it, the more I get to meet interesting people from the industry and outside of it that feel related to my story and movie.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
I am looking forward to meeting as many people as I can that will help me continue directing in the cinematographic world and raise money for other projects. I am looking for strong women that have stories to tell and don't have the chance to be heard as they should. And I am looking to make people dream with as many ideas and movies I can bring to life.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I would like to show that we still have the same conflicts as we did a few centuries ago. But that the ending is up to us. With little actions, we can change the course of our lives and turn the conflicts into dreams.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Are we different from the previous generations?
Is it wrong to want more in life?
Is a mediocre social status relative?
Would you like to add anything else?
Dream big and be whatever you dream to be.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I have loved writing stories since I was a little girl. Each story with a different genre but I always had my own style of telling stories. Currently, I am writing a feature film for children, a very beautiful story in a Disney "vibe". Also, I am currently raising money to make another short film. This time, a very emotional story with a strong message.
Interview: May 2020
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, 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
La parure (The Necklace)
What happens when a nightmare and a beautiful dream meet in one night?
When Mathilde fulfills her dream to go to the greatest ball of the 19th century, she loses the diamond necklace she borrowed from her friend. Mathilde's life suddenly changes when she has to pay off with hard work the heavy debt burden.
Length: 30:00
Director:
Shirelle Edery
Producer: Shirelle Edery
Writer: Shirelle Edery inspired by the article of Guy de Maupassant
About the writer, director and producer:
Passionate about history and cinema, SHIRELLE EDERY always dreamed to combine both worlds by creating a drama that will both be historical and fantastic. With La Parrure, she modernized the famous novel by giving it a new dimension.
Key cast: Ornella Bess (Lead Role), Yaniv Segal (Supporting Role), Elisabeth Kedem (Key cast ).
Looking for: film festival directors, sales agents, producers
Facebook: Shirelle Edery
Instagram: @shirelle19
Hashtags used: #laparure #המחרוזת #thenecklace
Funders: Self-founded
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? With Covid-19, the movie will not be screened in the next month and we hope it will be screened as soon as the pandemic ends