A frenetic and committed producer, Marianne Slot has produced all of Lars von Trier’s films since 1995, while also focusing on women directors. She will be serving on the international jury at this year’s Festival.
LUXFILMFEST In addition to your collaboration with Lars von Trier, you’ve supported independent films as well as a large number of women directors. What are your core values as a producer?
MARIANNE SLOT Working with Lars von Trier since 1995 has shaped me artistically, put my work as a producer into perspective, and nurtured my interest and appetite for innovative filmmaking and projects on the edge of conventional cinema. One of my objectives has always been to produce films from women directors in order to take a place that was not given to them and for which we had to fight. That being said, it doesn’t always depend on the genre; Lars von Trier has also given cinema some of the most interesting and complex protagonists, as has Benedikt Erlingsson with his Woman at War, featuring the most beautiful action heroine in her 50s.
LFF You’ve held a number of high-profile European and international positions, including that of President of World Cinema Support
at the CNC, the French public film and audiovisual support agency. Why is this position essential for you ?
M-S. Diversity and international cooperation are crucial to the preservation of cinema, and this can be achieved by developing and protecting initiatives such as World Cinema Support, Eurimages and the World Cinema Fund. It’s a time-consuming job reading hundreds of scripts, watching films and evaluating financial structures, but it’s very rewarding to get a glimpse of what’s happening artistically, culturally and politically through the best international arthouse film projects over an extended period of time. For the past year, I have chaired the European Solidarity Fund for Ukrainian Films, which is made up of 19 film centers or ministries of culture from 16 countries, with the aim of supporting the development and completion of Ukrainian cinematographic works. This approach makes a lot of sense as a citizen and as a professional.
LFF As a producer, you inevitably approach films from a unique angle. What is your stance regarding your task as a jury at Lux Film
Festival?
M-S. When I enter a jury, I leave aside any political or feminist opinion. A film may have a politically correct subject but when it comes to judging it the artistic expression always comes first.
Interviewed by Laura Pertuy
