By his own admission,
Moonlight and
If Beale Street Could Talk director Barry Jenkins is a devoted student of French film icon Claire Denis. He may also be her biggest fan. The respect and admiration the two filmmakers have for each other was on full display this past Friday when TIFF hosted the pair for a long-distance
In Conversation With event featuring the directors discussing their work, their influences, and the kinds of films that bring them joy during this extremely challenging period. “I’m only happy when I see a film that I like,” Denis told Jenkins, who
went to see Tenet on opening day in Paris in order to fulfil a promise to Robert Pattinson, who starred in her 2018 TIFF premiere,
High Life.But it’s Jenkins’ Oscar-winning film
Moonlight that truly moves Denis, who came close to tears when the subject of the scene in which Mahershala Ali’s character, Juan, teaches Little (Alex R. Hibbert) to swim. “It means so much more than just learning how to swim—it’s learning how to live. Trusting someone that gives you the trust in yourself, that's so important,” she told Jenkins. The topic of trust came up often in their conversation, with both directors agreeing that it was a crucial element in good filmmaking—trust in your crew and in your actors, but also trust in your audience to care enough to understand what a director is trying to communicate.[video_embed id='2038790']MORE AT TIFF: Denzel Washington reflects on ‘gentle soul’ Chadwick Boseman [/video_embed]Both Denis and Jenkins make movies that examine the way masculinity can corrupt men. Their work contains moments of extreme violence and extreme tenderness (like the aforementioned swimming lesson) and are explorations of how people treat each other in real life. “Watching film increased my knowledge about the difference between men and women,” said Denis, “the jealousy, the fear… In film, I realized the way we are beasts to each other.”From there, the conversation took a natural turn toward current events and the racially-motivated violence that has gained media attention and sparked protests and activism within the United States and across the world. Jenkins took on the topic of police brutality and anti-Black racism, telling Denis, “Now, every time one of these things happens... it feels like it’s happening for the first time. The pain is very raw, as it should be, because hopefully that will inspire the change that we actually need.”For their part, Jenkins and Denis craft stories that inspire change, examining and dismantling stereotypes, and trusting in the power of art to make an impact outside of its own realm. “Sometimes you see a painting and you stand in front of it for two hours, and you go back to the museum a week later and you stand in front of it again,” said Jenkins. “There’s no reason why the art that we make can’t function the same way.”[video_embed id='-1']BEFORE YOU GO: Sweet interaction between patient Dalmatian and obnoxious kitten [/video_embed]
