Simon Leoza, La Nuée

How’s Montreal this time of year?

It’s my favorite season of the year, fall. It’s that time when it starts to get a little cold, but not too cold, when you just want to spend your days in a cafe and write. So yes, I’m doing very well! Last year was a rather challenging but stimulating year at the same time, I learned a lot about myself as a human being and as a creative person. I consider myself really lucky to make films as a job. I pinch myself every day and I have a feeling that the future is really looking bright!

How much does your home city and Canada – or perhaps a broader sense of place – impact on your work?

I have always been impacted by everything around me, by the place I grew up in, and by my own life experiences. It’s my only way to create. And I believe that through all my work, you will always find a part of me. Sit Still is a perfect example. This film was a way for me to express something that I experienced during my childhood, in particular the feelings of being bullied, being misunderstood, and having difficulty expressing myself openly about it. My new short film Invincible, which I just released the trailer for, is also a very personal story, looking back on the 48 hours that preceded the death of my childhood friend Marc-Antoine. 

And recently, I’ve been feeling something new and quite exciting, the desire to explore elsewhere. I grew up and lived here all my life, and although I have traveled a lot, I have never lived in another city. This is something that has been bothering me a lot for the past few months. I want to put myself in an uncomfortable, destabilizing position, and find new creativity within this experience. We will see!

Sit Still

Children take centre stage and propel the narrative in both Sit Still and La Nuée, against bleak backdrops – perhaps dragging us from despair to hope. Is that a reflection of life in general or is there a more specific message? 

It’s more of a specific message for each film. But you will always find hope. I shot these two films at the same time, during the pandemic. Although I always wanted to tell something completely different, with hindsight, I think there was definitely a similar sense of hope that underlies these pieces. Given the period these films were created, maybe hope was what we needed. And I worked a lot with children because the way they convey their emotions is always honest and pure. When you present a world through their eyes, there will always be hope.

There’s an empty bleakness running through a number of your films. Where does that come from and why do you think it adds strength to the work?

I believe the beauty is in the simplicity, in the unsaid. I love to frame someone’s face long enough to be able to understand him or her, without that person having to talk, or show too much. This way, I hope you really connect with the character. I think this is how humans externalize their emotions. And it also allows everyone to interpret a story in their own way.

Pomme, À Perte De Vue

Why do you think people are drawn to the surreal, and what does it offer an artist?

I think we’re all a little bored with life sometimes. At least I do. This is why we dream, why our imaginations wander in universes completely out of this world. For me, the surreal is a way to express emotions so deep that there is simply no other way to imagine them. But I like the surreal when you hardly think about it when it makes sense in this world we are creating.

How much does the natural world impact on your creative thought process? 

When I create, I never think about surreal or magical situations. My stories always start in the natural world. I dug within my own experiences, I try to understand them, and most of the time, I’ll inevitably enter a more dreamlike universe!

How much structure and detail do you plan in advance of a project, and how much do you leave to chance, improvisation and performance during filming?

I plan a lot before each shoot! I love knowing exactly what I’m going to film, from shortlisting to dialogues. This is how I feel most confident. And this way of working then allows me to let it loose on set. Inside my organized mind, I start to improvise, to find solutions when things don’t work. I also always have in the back of my mind some ideas that only I know, and that I might try on set.

Invincible

What’s your earliest memory of film, and when did you realize you wanted to be involved in filmmaking?

It’s a difficult question since I feel like it’s something that has been growing in me for a long time. From a very young age, I remember having the habit of constantly imagining stories. It was a bit overwhelming, when I was alone, my head wandered in all directions, imagining completely incredible scenarios. Kind of like Walter in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. And then after high school, everything started to take shape. I was studying Television at university and in the first year, we were making little short films. I completely fell in love with the medium and changed programs to Film Production!

What can we look forward to seeing from you in the future, and do you have any long terms goals or ultimate ambitions in filmmaking?

It’s getting very exciting here. I’ve just finished my first narrative short film Invincible. The film is starting to be screened at several festivals.  I’m also shooting a new experimental short film in mid-November, and I’m developing my first feature film, You Were Always An Island. I would say the latter is definitely my ultimate ambition as a filmmaker!

Interview by Chris Hunter

INFO:

Vincent René-Lortie website

The Corner Shop website

Telescope Films website