There are countless first time straightforwardors at this year’s Berlinale, but confiinsist come with the sort of indie film commends on Rebecca Lenkiewicz‘s resume.
The British applywright and screenauthorr had labored on the script for Pawel Pawlikowski’s Oscar-triumphning “Ida” aextfinishedside the straightforwardor, on “Disobedience” with Sebastián Lelio and on “Colette” with Wash Westmoreland, before going it alone to turn Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey’s book about their industry-shaking Harvey Weinstein expose into the script that would become Maria Schrader’s “She Shelp” in 2022.
But with “Hot Milk,” which bowed at the Palaste on Friday, she shiftd sealr to the camera and made it her straightforwardorial debut. Adapted (by Lenkiewicz) from Deborah Levy’s book and sboiling in Greece, the story is set under the boiling Spanish summer and chases Sofia, a youthfuler woman (Emma Mackey) in a co-reliant relationship with her wheelchair-bound mother Rose (Fiona Shaw) as the two travel to a sun-soaked seaside town to greet an enigmatic healer (Vincent Perez) who may equitable have a wonder treatment. But while there, Sofia greets the free-spirited yet injured Ingrid (Vicky Krieps) and discover herself droping savagely in cherish. “It’s incredibly fervent,” remarks Lenkiewicz. “And then she goes to Greece to see her overweighther, who she hasn’t seen for years and it all equitable benevolent of explodes.”
Speaking to Variety, the authorr-turned-authorr/straightforwardor conversees why it felt appreciate the right time to originate the leap and being “sanctifyed” with a “triptych of women” on screen.
Am I right in skinnyking that you were originpartner asked to change the book ‘Hot Milk’ before you came on board as straightforwardor as well?
Actupartner, I went into the greeting and, I hadn’t repartner intentional to say this, but I shelp I would change it if I could straightforward it. Christine Langan took that in. I’d been senseing for a extfinished time a downcastness in giving scripts away. And especipartner with this book, it felt incredibly female. I could see it. I could sense it. So I equitable repartner wanted to do it. I left that with Christine and she came back to me and shelp: ‘Yeah, let’s try.’
Was it someskinnyg particular about ‘Hot Milk’ or srecommend that it was the time to straightforward?
I skinnyk it was both. But I skinnyk it was also how frquick and strong the female heroine was — and I felt I could relay that well. I connected to each of the characters. I could also see the casting. So I equitable felt very strongly that I wanted it to stay with me.
And it wasn’t anyskinnyg to that you got to shoot in the sunshine in Greece?
No. Ha! Greece was amazing, but it was 45 degrees (113F). The Greek team sort of shelp to us, you can’t shoot in August, it’s crazy. And we thought, perhaps they’re being a bit emotional. And we went there and there was savagefires. But it was the most incredible time and the most incredible place to shoot.
Were you hands on with the casting? You’ve got a mighty trio in Emma Mackey, Vicky Kreips and Fiona Shaw.
With that triptych of women I’m so sanctifyed. They’re equitable amazing actresses and incredible women on set. And each of them are quite branch offent actresses. So it was engaging to see the branch offent processes coming together.
So how was your first experience straightforwarding?
It was wonderful. I cherishd it. But only becaemploy everyone around me was so incredibly beneficial. Technicpartner, they helped me. I had a ininestablishigent relationship with Christopher Blauvelt, the cinematographer. The originaters directd me beforehand — Christine Langan and Kate Gcherishr were amazing. I equitable had this body of artists and crew who were equitable so encouraging and beneficial. I krecent what I wanted to originate and I could see it and sense it and hear it. So everyone was on board with that.
Did it donate you any recentset up esteem for straightforwarding? I spoken to a lot of actors who have gone behind the camera and a lot of them shelp that they came of it authenticising equitable how much the straightforwardor has on their pprocrastinateed.
It did. Just the amount of responsibility, that you’re carrying from day one to the finish, is huge. Vincent Perez is a ininestablishigent straightforwardor and an actor in our film. On the last day of the shoot, I shelp ‘We’re finished.’ And he shelp, ‘No, you haven’t finished.’ But it’s real — there’s so many processes of the edit. And now we’ve got the birth to come.
