CLAIRE MATHON AFC•SAINT OMER

shoot, and I operated. You might imagine that two cameras would have been the appropriate configuration to cover the trial scenes, but the shots we wanted, the axes and compositions, were very deliberate choices that we determined upstream from the script. It was not a question of capturing everything, on the contrary it was about making choices. One of our desires was to hold long static shots and that any movements were imperceptible.

We also did long tracking shots to accompany Rama – for example, from her hotel to the courthouse – which were done in a single movement, but without us feeling the camera.

And what was your approach to the lighting?

I had a very small inventory of LED lights, provided by Panalux – ARRI Skypanels, LightStar Luxed-9s, LiteGear Litemat Plus 3s, Astera tubes and ROSCO DMG SL1s.

We wanted to put the faces in the light, so I tried to channel as much light as possible into the courtroom, whilst adjusting for the relationship between the face and the background. One idea was to make the decor disappear a little as we went along, to abstract it and to focus on the portraiture and thereby find these painted figures. So I basically directed the light, cutting it and diffusing it for the very precise light we were seeking.

But, I also wanted to keep the light alive during the takes, which were often very long. So I decided to work mostly with natural light indoors during the day, accepting and working with natural swings in the light outside. I liked the idea of dealing with the vagaries of cloudy periods and the way light evolves and varies during the day.

With my hand on the diaphragm ring, I remained attentive and alive, capturing the scenes, the tension, the emotion, as if something unexpected was going to happen with each take.

For the night scenes, I looked for a warm, golden light that stayed in our wood, bronze and brown palette. This heat had to be able to come from the lights of the city, the lights of the bulbs. I didn’t want it to be particularly realistic, I didn’t want it to be red or green or acidic, but was looking for more warmth in Rama’s skin.

Tell us about your crew?

I wanted to offer this film to a relatively young camera, grip and lighting team, and looked for sensitive people who would know how to live with the project as a whole and sometimes enjoy doing very little.

My first AC was Sarah Dubien, with Noémie Commissaire working as second AC, and François Diard the key grip. The gaffer was Benoît Bouthors. I had already worked with them on short projects and I was very happy with these collaborations. They supported the technical and creative choices on this film with intelligence.

I completed the final grade with colourist Mathilde Delacroix at M141 in Paris. We mainly worked on preserving the life and specificity of each skin tone maintaining visual unity throughout the film.

What were the biggest challenges on this film for you?

To relive the intimate experience that Alice had during the original trial, to keep the complexity of her vision, to translate her sensitivity to the framing and lighting, and to give value to all of this humanity in the story. It’s a film that gave me great freedom, which really engaged my gaze.