‘Les Chenilles’, a short film by Michelle and Noël Keserwany, recently premiered in the Arab world at the El Gouna Film Festival, where it was named Best Arab Short Film. This French-Lebanese production has also received several international awards. In an interview with Vijaya Cherian, the directors and producer offer a behind-the-scenes glimpse into their artistic journey.
What inspired you to tell the story of Les Chenilles, particularly focusing on themes of exploitation and female solidarity?
Actually, we don’t really focus on women; rather, our focus is on human experiences. The emphasis on women in our stories is more instinctive than anything else. Les Chenilles delves into multiple layers of the human experience, regardless of gender, aiming to capture the essence of our struggles and triumphs as individuals navigating through life. From the challenge of integrating into a new city while carrying the weight of a tumultuous past, to the innate desire for autonomy and self-defence and the profound significance of friendship during times of vulnerability, we tried to tell a story that explores myriad themes that from our perspective resonate well together.
As co-directors, after having the space to explore the intimacy of our characters, we transitioned into another deep theme: the exploitation of women, particularly within the business world. This guided our storytelling approach, inspiring us to blend personal narratives, observations and research into historical accounts of women’s exploitation in the silk industries during the 19th century in the Levant. Through the lens of the characters Asma and Sara and their journey, we seek to shed light on the overlooked moments of solidarity and support found within women’s communities – a narrative rarity in a mainstream media saturated with depictions of female rivalry and competition.
Were there specific events or experiences that motivated you to address these themes?
Les Chenilles started with discussions with Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath [the film’s producers] from La Biennale de Lyon, through whom we had access to the archives about the silk trade between France and the Levant in the end of the 19th century. These archives captivated us with all the details about exploitation of the working class, and more so that of women back then. The more we delved into these archives, the more we saw the direct relation they had with our contemporary political situation and the multifaceted crisis we are facing today in our region.
In particular, we were struck by an article by Fawwaz Traboulsi that explores the relationship between women from Mount Lebanon and foreign silk factories that were installed in the Levant region in the 19th century. In the context of breeding silkworms to create silk, a Japanese prince said around the year 462: “It’s in between the breasts of women that cocoons should be placed to hatch.” Inspired by that disturbing imagery and the difficult conditions under which women worked in French silk factories in the 19th century, especially in Mount Lebanon, we created a modern story of displacement to tackle contemporary aspects of migration: work conditions, gender dynamics and the effect of historical events on our modern lives.
Besides, between 2019 and 2021 we both left Lebanon to start a life between Paris and Beirut due to multiple pressures and the political crisis in the country. In France, we met women from different parts of the world who were going through the same experience, forming safe spaces that felt like home at times when things were tough. The core idea of the film came from there. Going through an abrupt and unplanned migration was an intense experience full of events and encounters that are at the heart of this film.
Can you share insights into the overall timeline of the project, from conceiving the idea to completing the film?
The film started around 2021 with the Biennale de Lyon, who approached us for a collaboration. Over the course of a year-and-a-half, we engaged in extensive discussions, research and multiple visits to Lyon for scouting, and reached out to individuals we had previously collaborated with on other projects. At the end of this phase, our intentions were clearly defined.
In 2022, Michelle wrote the script. Later on, Marine Vaillant joined the project through her production house Dewberries Films as the shooting date approached, to co-invest and co-produce the film with the Biennale de Lyon. With the big support of the two productions, the entire film was filmed in a span of three-and-a-half days. The post-production phase took approximately five months, covering editing, colouring, music and sound. By the end of summer 2022, the film was completed. Its cinematic premiere was at the Berlinale in February 2023.
Filming often comes with interesting and memorable experiences. What anecdotes stand out for you from the production of Les Chenilles?
During filming, Noël and Masa improvised most of the dialogue on set. Karim Ghorayeb, the DoP, captured their reactions as they embarked on a real walk from dusk till dawn. By a stroke of luck, we stumbled upon fencing students practising with their swords in the middle of a small square. Rather than interrupting production, we seamlessly incorporated them into the scene after securing their permission. Their participation added a surreal touch, amplified by the sounds of swords clashing and the intensity of young women and men fighting. Asma and Sarah’s tense and uneasy walk in the film gained a new depth from this unexpected addition. Similar spontaneous moments unfolded on set, where we fostered improvisation and spontaneity to maintain the authentic interaction between the characters and the urban landscape.
Les Chenilles is also about finding a balance within ourselves, or within intimate relationships, in order to find a safe space to go back to when the world around us feels unstable. And in this, one of the best moments behind the scenes was when we were thinking of the creation of the whole film from scratch, and the balance we tried to create between us while uniting on some tasks but also splitting other tasks to feel complementary. This space is very similar to what Sarah and Asma go through in the film. Going through a lot of insecurity and challenges while being close is a hard task, and we believe the making of the film was full of such moments of finding balance.
The same aspect was revealed between Masa Zaher, who plays the role of Asma, and me, Noël (playing the role of Sarah), while rehearsing. The rehearsals were based on us meeting for several days and spending time together, going from doing corporal exercises where each one of us tries to fill the void that the other leaves, through physical exercises: carrying each other, finding balance between our bodies, trying to lean on each other … Besides the exercises, we spent time talking, taking walks, eating and having drinks together. We never rehearsed a scene as is, we only practised getting closer, because the closeness in the film cannot be faked. Reflecting on the film now, these behind-the-scenes moments between Masa and me, alongside other team members and friends, resonate at various levels.
Were there moments when you had to make creative decisions to effectively convey your message?
The entire process revolves around making decisions to refine the form and ensure it serves the narrative we intend to convey. We begin by establishing a solid and clear narrative core, around which the form remains highly adaptable to support this narrative, rather than the other way around. Despite not having studied cinema, we refrain from limiting ourselves, focusing solely on our main intention and the reason for creating the film. Everything else involves allowing ourselves to experiment and select the form that best serves the message. In Les Chenilles, this led to the adoption of a hybrid format. However, this decision-making process was delicate, as we aimed to maintain a clean, simple story, avoid excessive experimentation and preserve visual balance.
As co-directors, how do you manage collaboration and decision-making?
We have been working together on our political music videos for 12 years now. Les Chenilles is our first short film, but we know each other deeply as we have been very close as sisters and while working together. We have very different characters but we do have very close ways of seeing and analysing things, which makes us able to collaborate closely all while being complementary to the biggest extent.
Marine Vaillant on Navigating Funding for Les Chenilles
Securing funding for independent films can be challenging. How did you go about securing funding for Les Chenilles?
We were very lucky to have the support of La Biennale de Lyon and of Kadist since the very start of the project, as they were already in touch with Michelle and Noël around their previous works. We also managed to secure private funding, and my company has invested to provide the necessary means to produce this film.
Did any unique strategies or partnerships play a crucial role in financing the project?
La Biennale de Lyon, along with the curators Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath, have been the first and biggest support to put this film on track. They have been helping out Michelle and Noël from the start to launch their research. Then, thanks to La Biennale de Lyon, we have been able to collaborate with La CineFabrique in Lyon, a professional school that enabled us to work with experienced technicians at accessible rates and to have access to a lot of equipment and facilities. We have also benefited from long-term partnerships such as the support of the Cité des Arts in Paris, which granted us some spaces for rehearsal.
Were there any unexpected delays or accelerations in production?
The timing was quite challenging! I was contacted a few months before the shoot was planned and all had to happen really fast to be able to deliver the Biennale in due time. So the pre-shooting went very fast and all accelerated at this stage. The post-production was slower as it had to be handled between several countries, and all accelerated again during the summer, close to the delivery date, to be ready for the opening of the Biennale in September 2022.
Every film project comes with its own set of challenges. What major challenges did you face during production, and how did you overcome them?
The major challenges were various during the several steps of the production. Firstly, the means we had were tight compared to the ambition of the film. We had a very small team and most of us had to wear several hats. The rhythm was very dense, as in France we are not used to shooting a 30-minute film in three-and-a-half days. Another challenge was the post-production coordination, as our editor was based in Germany, the colour grade artist in the USA and the lab in Lebanon, while the directors were all in France.
Were there moments when you had to make significant adjustments to the original plan?
We had to take the decision to postpone some shots we didn’t manage to shoot during the planned shooting days and reorganise to get all the needed material. We also had some sound issues on some exterior scenes, so we had to plan other sessions of recording – thanks to Les Studios de la Seine, and most importantly to our sound engineer from Lebanon and a friend he had in France.
