“Return to Corsica”: Catherine Corsini: “I left my class very early”

With your film title, is your film based on Didier Eribon’s autobiographical book “Return to Reims”, which is also about classism, resentment and detachment from the environment of origin?

I really liked Eribon’s book. It enlightened me and made me realize a lot about my own history. My father was Corsican who came from a very poor family. He went to Paris at the age of 17, wanted to do theater and cinema and escape his social milieu, but then died very early. Maybe he still passed something on to me because I also left my class very early – although I don’t hate it, as is more the case with Eribon. But returning is also important to me in order to pay bills.

Like Eribon, your film also deals with homosexuality.

Eribon is a gay writer, I am a gay filmmaker. We both gave ourselves permission to be different. However, it is still harder for women because men get more help and have other opportunities, especially for making art. For women, the path is longer and more complicated. You can reveal yourself, but there would have to be a completely different way of thinking behind it for women too. Women have still left far too few traces in art.

Interview

dpa/JJ Guillen

Catherine Corsini was born in 1956 in Dreux, France. She studied at the renowned acting school Conservatoire national supérieur d’art dramatique. Later she also became interested in directing. In 2001 she received an invitation to compete at the Cannes Film Festival for her film “La Répétition”. In 2021 she was included in the main competition at Cannes again with “In the Best Hands” and in 2023 with “Return to Corsica”.

In the film you portray the family of origin – a black single parent with two daughters, one of whom is on the way to advancement through education – with a lot of respect and empathy. The patronizing, educated middle class couple, who invite their nanny’s two daughters on vacation to Corsica, show resentment. The film simultaneously deals with such diverse forms of discrimination as sexism, homophobia, classism and racism. Do you see »Return to Corsica« as a contribution to intersectional feminism?

I belong to a generation that does not use this terminology. But my niece, a young feminist, described my film in a similar way. I find it interesting that the film is viewed this way, even if I use a different vocabulary. Because I wanted to appeal to young people with the film. It was very painful for me to accept my own identity, my homosexuality. This was still criminalized in the 80s. Like so many women, I lost a lot of time. A lesbian 16-year-old has completely different opportunities today and is much more open and free. I want to give a portrait to this generation, these three young black women who are at the center of my film and some of whom are also homosexual. Women still thank me for making the film “La Belle Saison” (the feminist story of lesbian love in 1970s France; M.H.) for them in 2015. There are still far too few films that portray homosexual women with all their problems.

You are co-founder of Collectif 50/50, which promotes equal opportunities and diversity in the French film industry. How do you achieve its goals?

I worked with mixed film crews from a very early age. On “Return to Corsica,” 70 percent of the team was female, and I have been working with a chief camerawoman for years. For me it is more relaxed, easier and also more emotional to work with a female crew. The understanding is greater, it suits me better. At the beginning of my career I had to work a lot with men, and they always acted as if I was incompetent and didn’t know what I wanted. Today, thanks to our commitment, producers receive a government bonus if they meet the 50 percent limit. It’s not about punishing men, it’s about creating incentives. The gender ratio of 50:50 has slowly become institutionalized, which is an important step. A major deficit is still that the film crews consist mainly of white people. There is still a fight to be fought that is very important to me.

nd.Kompakt – our daily newsletter

Our daily newsletter nd.Compact brings order to the news madness. Every day you will receive an overview of the most exciting stories from the world editorial staff. Get your free subscription here.

Because an anonymous email accused the film team of harassment and other inappropriate behavior on set, “Return to Corsica” was initially disinvited from the Cannes festival and then invited back after review. How much did that hurt the film?

Very. All questions have now been clarified. There was an administrative problem, as there are with films. (This refers to a sexually connoted scene with 15-year-old Esther Gohourou, who plays one of the daughters, which was not approved in advance by a child protection commission as required – the scene was cut out; MH) I as a person and the film are affected by the allegations and absurd rumors on social media. I don’t know exactly what happened, whether jealousy was the trigger, whether they wanted to attack me personally – I still need time to understand that. It was an unjust misogynistic attack in which racism also played a role because it was an attempt to deny black women from walking the red carpet at Cannes. I will continue to make committed feminist films. I will not let my humanity be denied and I remain a big supporter of #MeToo.

»Return to Corsica«, France 2023. Director: Catherine Corsini; Book: Catherine Corsini, Naïla Guiguet. With: Aïssatou Diallo Sagna, Esther Gohourou, Suzy Bemba. 106 min. Cinema release: March 14th.