QUESTION#1: What excited you the most when making this film?: I'd been writing screenplays for several years, but this was my first short film as a director. So I was very excited to discover all the stages involved in making a film, in particular working with actresses and starring in my own film, and all the artistic, technical and logistical work involved in a shooting. We had to furnish an empty rooftop in no more than a morning, as we only had two half-days to shoot the 12 pages of dialogue in the script!

QUESTION#2: What was the most significant film you've seen AT THE THEATER in 2024, and how did it influence your filmmaking?: In reality, I shot this film in 2021, and the post-production stages took place between 2022 and 2023, because the editing was very complicated, and we had to deal with the availability of various technicians for a totally voluntary post-production, having been made in an associative context. As a result, I can't say which films made an impression on me in 2021, but I'm a big fan of Nuri Bilge Ceylan's work!

QUESTION#3: What's an obvious and not-so-obvious question someone might ask about your film?: OBVIOUS QUESTION : why am I telling this story, am I personally involved? This is the story my Tunisian best friend Sabrine Habassi told me when she introduced her French boyfriend to her mother for the first time! - NOT-SO-OBVIOUS QUESTION: is this film primarily about immigration, or about a difficult mother-daughter relationship? The starting point with my co-writer Sabrine was the universality of the situation of a parent who doesn't accept that his or her child is becoming an adult and asserts his or her own adult choices, different from what we would wish for him or her as a parent. The emancipation of a young adult from his or her parents transcends all cultures, but it has a particular resonance with immigration issues.

QUESTION#4: A magic movie genie is giving you an unlimited budget for your next production! However, you're only allowed to use it on either "above line" or "below line" resouces. Which do you choose and why?: Both ! Ha, ha ! More seriously, the people we talk to in this business are always pushing us to choose between this or that, but I think it's up to us directors to make sure that all the ingredients necessary for a film's success are present.

QUESTION#5: What is it about your current movie that will influence your next film?: I think I've found my own style, which could be defined as a realistic style with a focus on the hero's feelings. It's the hero's feelings that drive the mise-en-scène, from the choice of set, the direction of the actors, the visual and sound work, the colors, the way the film is edited, right through to the final result. I'm a sentimental person, and this will be increasingly apparent in my future films.

Social media tags to share with our readers: #MADShorts, #antoine.stehle

5Q's w/: Antoine Stehlé "Habibti" Director, Writer