From Belleville to Tunis, director and actress Lola Bessis takes us into her world, and shares her inspirations of the moment.

Cinema never ceases to smile at Lola Bessis. First film made at 21 in the United States, advertisements for the world of luxury, an acting career in several independent American films as well as in the Australian series Picnic at Hanging Rock, parodies on Canal+ with Catherine and Liliane… The sequel promises to be just as exciting with two films in preparation, both co-directed with Ruben Amar: the road-movie Silver Star which will be shot in New York at the end of the year and a romantic comedy, Philippine on orbit, produced by Avenue B (shooting summer 2023) in which Lola Bessis also plays the main role. This true jack-of-all-trades shares her favorites with us.

A neighborhood to get lost in

" Beautiful city ! My neighborhood ! I love walking in the Buttes Chaumont, it's an inexhaustible source of inspiration. Above all, I love its cosmopolitanism, which reminds me of the Lower East Side where I lived in New York. Belleville gives the impression of traveling without leaving home. I like shopkeepers like those at the Egyptian grocery store “Le Caire”. With its thousand and one spices and flavors, it's like being in Ali Baba's cave. Or the Asian supermarket "Les Halles de l'Asie". I like to cook, so this is heaven. And when I'm lazy, I have a “pho” (the typical Vietnamese dish) at Yu, rue de Belleville”.

A book to devour

“Without hesitation The Postcard of Anne Berest. We were jurors together at the Deauville Festival a few years ago. She then dedicated her live Sagan 1954 to me, which I adored. I then devoured Gabriële, co-written with her sister Claire, in which they follow in the footsteps of their great-grandmother Gabriële Buffet-Picabia who had a thousand lives, a real work of investigation. Her latest book The Postcard is a majestic text in which Anne Berest continues to draw the thread of the intimate investigation by awakening the ghosts of other ancestors, sadly disappeared in Auschwitz. This is a major book, disturbing and playful at the same time. She describes a part of the story that we all know, but that it is difficult to imagine as it seems so unreal, impossible... Anne immerses us in it right in the heart, as if we were there. Besides, the book was released around the same time as my friend Frankie Wallach's wonderful film Trop d'amour, which depicts, with a lot of feeling and humor, her family, with her grandmother in mind. Julia, survivor of the camps. »

A film to discover

“The last slap I took at the cinema was with I don't give a fuck by Emmanuel Marre and Julie Lecoustre. Adèle Exarchopoulos is exceptional there. I like the part of documentary that there can be in fiction: the impression of being in reality while going beyond it. This was already the case in the very beautiful medium-length film by Emmanuel Marre, From one castle to another. I also really liked this mix of genres in The Battle of Solferino by Justine Triet, a director who also comes from documentaries. »

An inspiring series character

"I recently fell in love with Villanelle on the show. Killing Eve interpreted by the fantastic English actress Jodie Comer. She is a strong and modern woman who assumes her desires, while being very funny and full of fantasy. This is also the case of Midge in another successful series Mrs Maisel which takes place in the 50s in the world of " standup " At New York. But no heroine has yet dethroned Hannah Horvath in Girls! »

A favorite perfume

“The smell of jasmine in Tunis. I'm from there and I go back almost every summer. There is a very special, indescribable atmosphere... Jasmine mingles with the smell of couscous, like that of the restaurant "l'Arbre à couscous" in La Marsa or mint and pine nut tea at the famous "Café des Nattes in Sidi Bou Said. »

An iconic recipe

" The  Minestra of greenery , an Italian soup from the  poor kitchen  (the kitchen of the poor in Italian, editor's note) composed of a farandole of vegetables and small pasta that my grandmother Nonna, a great cook of Tuscan origin, makes wonderfully. This is my Madeleine by Proust. This recipe and Nonna are also the stars of a little documentary I just made as part of the Grandma's project , a documentary series that deals with transmission through cooking. The concept ? Several directors film their grandmothers around an emblematic recipe that evokes their roots, their history. »

A photo to share

“I really like the Chinese photographer Ren Hang, who sadly passed away in 2017. I discovered him almost 10 years ago when he was still unknown. I then bought three of his pictures. It has now become an essential reference in the world of contemporary photography. I like his freedom, his art of subversion and his very personal representation of the nude and of desire in a China that suppresses freedom of expression. My favorite photo is of two naked individuals kissing under a rain of dust (or is it snow?). She sits in my living room, and watching her makes me feel good. Whether in the terrible context of the Covid crisis or the war in Ukraine, she reminds me of the need to continue to embrace and love each other, even in adversity. »

Music to listen to on a loop

« Where the willows don't weep, the new album of my friend Adrien Gallo is of a rare poetry. I was at his concert at the Trianon in April. He is a great artist who handles words and melodies wonderfully. Beneath their false air of nursery rhymes, his songs carry a real depth and imprints of melancholy. »

Photo: ©Matthieu DELBREUVE@Kaptive