The Hat That Got Me Through a Sunny Month in the South of France
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I had no idea what to expect. My first film, my first experience on set. I had been developing my adaptation of Françoise Sagan’s 1954 novelBonjour Tristessefor close to seven years, but when it finally came time to pack for the shoot in the south of France, everything hit me.What was I thinking? What would I need?I surveyed my desk and realized how most of my things were better suited for taking notes, working on assignments, and procrastinating (pens and Post-Its I hardly used, a deck of cards). I remember standing above my suitcase and saying to myself,It’s really about to happen.
The south of France was, for the most part — though we had scouted our villa months prior — notional to me. It was film folklore (Grace Kelly inTo Catch a Thief, Romy Schneider and Alain Delon poolside, Otto Preminger’s original adaption ofBonjour Tristessestarring a radiant Jean Seberg). It was bright, bright blue (the Mediterranean at midday). It was almost lunar in its landscape (white rocks, cratered and cracked on tall cliffs). But it wasn’t somewhere I’d previously spent a lot of time. Or a landscape I had much experience with. Our crew was almost entirely local, though, and once I got there, I met some of the most skilled and kindhearted artists, who helped me build our film one choice at a time. They also taught me so many little tricks, little tips, for just getting through each day. And looking back, I’ve come to understand how critical it was to lack farsightedness. To learn on the fly from the people around me.
Over the course of a month, shuttling between Marseille and Cassis with Chloë Sevigny, Claes Bang, Lily McInerny, and the crew, we shotBonjour Tristesseunder mostly clear skies. I learned early in the process that I would need some essentials — practical stuff that provided ease, but also confidence. The things, some surprising, some less so, that helped me transform and fully inhabit my role as director. Nothing fussy, suitable for the elements. A hat, a pen, some chocolate …
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I discovered this cotton-canvas hat from the designer Sophie Buhai. She had recommended it in a piece forAir Mail, and one would be a fool to not follow Sophie’s recommendations. Her style is an even split between elegance and effectiveness, never short on practical details, like this kettle-edge brim I often turned down to get a better look at my monitor. I love this hat. And everyone on set got a kick out of me wearing it because I would look like a lampshade. It packs easily and looks handsome, like something Katharine Hepburn might have worn. Or at least I tell myself that!
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These chocolate bars were stashed around set. One of our crew members, Virginie, who was always keeping an eye on people’s spirits, would find inventive places to hide Balisto bars so that we might stumble upon them during particularly long setups/moments of low sugar. They were a mix of cookie and chocolate, satisfying and a little naughty. I remember discovering a reserve inside a giant vase near our villa’s front entrance. It was like hidden treasure.
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I only brought two books with me. This one, and Robert Bresson’sNotes on the Cinematographer. Eleanor Coppola’sNoteswas my companion on days off or evenings when I couldn’t find a way to wind down or mornings when we were starting late. Her account of life and motherhood, of movie-making and witnessing ego — all of it — was somehow calming for me while we madeBonjour.Maybe it’s because my son, Fran, was with me in France, and so much of my experience of making the movie has everything to do with him being there. On weekend mornings, his nanny Melissa would take some time off, and Fran and I would go to the playground and color or blow bubbles or wander and find a croissant. I remember those times just as vividly as I remember directing the film.
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This one is a little silly, but when we were scouting for our villa in the winter, we went into a French pharmacy, and I found thistoothbrushwith the colors of the French flag on the brush’s bristles. I bought it and decided I would keep it for our shoot. Maybe for good luck? I opened it on day one and used it for the length of our production.
[Editor’s note: This retailer lists all prices in euros, so the price shown is an approximate conversion in U.S. dollars.]
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Hard to explain, but the classic fit of this men’s short-sleeved, cotton-silk-blend shirt, with its pointed collar and curved hem, was essential to my on-set uniform. It’s soft and drapes easily and makes you feel seen and invisible at the same time.
[Editor’s note: The shirt is not available in her exact light blue, but a similar black option is linked below.]
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Our makeup artist, Kathia Ruiz, tucked this balm into my hands one day when we were shooting on the beach. I would see her on set applying it to our cast’s lips. She told me to keep it with me always, which I have. It’s a cure-all. I use it on my eyelids, lips, cheeks, nail beds, when my skin is feeling dry. Kathia took care of us, reminding me to eat and drink water, to sit down, find some shade. I sort of see this balm as an extension of her.
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My husband had gotten me the camera for Christmas one year. We mostly used it to document Fran’s little adventures. I knew I needed it with me in Cassis, and I’m so happy I remembered to pack it. My Polaroids from set are prized. Whenever I look at them, I’m immediately brought back to Cassis, to the pine trees, our villa’s tiled walls, set visits from friends and family, Chloë’s first day, Lily’s wardrobe fittings, Claes and Naïlia rehearsing, our crew making faces, my producers Katie and Lindsay often tucked in a corner solving a problem. I loved finding moments to just pause and memorialize. I have Polaroids of Miyako testing dress colors on the terrace or Aliocha sitting by the pool. I have Polaroids of our crew packing up vans after long days and weekly apéros where different departments would host with drinks and snacks and music. These Polaroids make it seem like we were playing house, because in some ways, we were.
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