Born in Montreal, Canada in 1993, Marianne Métivier studied at the Université du Québec in the city. Inspired by her travels around the world, she explores pivotal moments in life with poetry and the method of alienation. Celle qui porte la pluie is her first short film since graduating.
What was your starting point for Celle qui porte la pluie?
The first flash of the film appeared to me in India. I was travelling during the monsoon season. There was something about the rain there: its omnipresence and its amplitude. I remember the rumbling water hitting on steel roofs, the luscious green everywhere and the dampness of my clothes – it created a melancholic and beautiful mood. I was writing down simple scenes such as „a woman is hand-washing clothes outside“. The idea to bring in my personal life and the relation to my father’s death came later in the writing process.
Do you have a favourite moment in the film? Which one and why this one?
Honestly, it is hard for me to see this film as a defined object – to disconnect the scenes from the process; from how things fell into place technically and emotionally speaking. That being said, I enjoy the few moments where there are little secret jokes specifically addressed to my dad, it still makes me smile.
What do you like about the short form?
It’s challenging! There are many things I want to put in my films and the short form doesn’t always allow it. I like to take my time to install a specific mood and it’s not always easy to find the balance between the different elements within a contemplative pace. My editor Amélie Hardy and I had to shuffle the scenes in many different ways to find the harmony between the shots. We ended up cutting a lot of material, even characters. But in the end the important thing is to frame the essence. And I believe we managed to do so.
photo ©Dorothea Tuch
Berlinale Shorts 