Playing the role of Emma Becker, an author who infiltrated the Berlin brothel, the actress adds a new dimension to her career.
The role he was waiting for. Knowing that Anissa Bonnefont is working on an adaptation The houseEmma Becker’s literary phenomenon (published in 2019 by Éditions Flammarion), Ana Girardo saw in it an opportunity to give her career a new turn. The story is that of the author, a writer who infiltrates a Berlin brothel for the purposes of his new book, and who ends up staying there for two years. Playing this erotic and scandalous heroine (the film is restricted to children under 16), Ana Girardo outdid herself and proved that she was right. The house they should open doors for him.
Dating prostitutes
Miss Figaro. –Did you meet Emma Becker before playing her on screen?
Ana Girardot. – No, despite my strong insistence that this meeting take place… So I decided to create my own fictional character. By choosing me, Anissa Bonnefont, in any case, showed that her heroine was not a continuation of Emma Becker, because we are not physically similar, and I have a personality very far from her. To get under the skin of this character, I documented myself, met prostitutes and read a lot of writings by Griselides Real, a very famous prostitute in the 1970s who had a real love for her profession. But my main takeaway was Anisa’s script, which immediately drew me in with her enthusiasm, her energy and her creativity. I know I would never have signed on for this project if it was directed by a man.
“This role empowered me, took me and opened something in me”
Ana Girardot
Hanging woman
Can you understand the approach of the person you’re playing?
This character is so complex and unusual in her way of experiencing things that it took me a long time to understand her… I even wonder if Emma remains a mystery to me. I see her as a woman who is looking for herself. Of course, he is very free and rebellious, but the fact that he testifies about his actions in the book shows that he is still looking for feedback from those close to him. In fact, I think he’s full of contradictions…like all of us, after all. In this role, I was interested in approaching the character as an addicted woman, because addiction allows you to send back the projection of different mirrors: her family who judges her, her best friend who worries, but also; her lover, who wants to protect her, and the other prostitutes in the house.
What brought you to this role?
He empowered me, carried me, and opened something in me. I saw it in the films I made later. it changed the way I operate and even forced itself on me. I see that as an actress I was easily put in the escort or “wife” box. After receiving scripts that followed this same pattern, I realized that for producers and financiers, I was the person people thought of to play women who had never been decision makers. It’s scary because every actor’s goal is obviously to reveal a thousand and one faces, and it locked me into my acting and my career.
“My father will never see the movie”
Was banning this movie for under 16s obvious from the start?
It’s funny because my dad (actor: Hippolyte Girardot,Editor’s Note) who promised me that he would never watch the film, mentioned that it has been a long time since there was such a ban in cinemas. And even if the production wasn’t required to begin with, Anissa was very adamant that we couldn’t make a film about a brothel and only show half of it. If this ban can protect young teenagers, so much the better, but let’s not be hypocritical, everything is now available on the Internet.
When do you feel most free?
When I go to the other side of the camera. It allows me to fully express who I am and it gives me a lot of freedom. That’s why last year I co-founded my production company, Chapeau Films, with my friend Sarah Khafif. Our editorial line consists of highlighting strong female characters who move us.
“If all goes well, I should also make an action film soon.”
Ana Girardot
On the other side of the camera
What are your projects?
We did a digital ad for a luxury house, which I had a lot of fun with, and then we staged it baby monitor, an audio horror film for Canal+ about the postpartum period. It involved recording the actors (Felix Moat, Lina Khoudry, Hippolyte Girardot) in a real environment with a microphone in the shape of a human skull, which reproduces the acoustics of the room in 360 degrees. Thanks to this technique, the listener is placed in the place of the central character, whom I embody, and the sounds come from all sides. It’s a bit like watching a movie with your eyes closed. the challenge was how to stun the viewer without images.
Why did you choose this postpartum theme?
Like me, Sarah is a new mom, and postpartum is a topic we’ve only just started talking about. Having had this period as a difficult time, I remember that talking about it and hearing testimonies from women in my situation made me feel better and calmer. By touching on these important topics, movies or audio can make us feel less alone.
Where will the public find you next? The house?
I’m playing in Isabelle Brocard’s movie, Madame de Sevi, with Karin Viard (released in 2023), and I’m writing my first feature film about a father-daughter relationship. If all goes well, I should also be doing an action film soon for a platform where I will be the only woman in the cast this time.
the house By Anissa Bonnefont, with Ana Girardot, Rossi De Palma…
On video, on camera with Ana Girardot at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival
Source: Le Figaro
