The director behind 'Happening' on making a 'vital' film about a woman seeking an illegal abortion
Adapted from the French writer Annie Ernaux’s autobiographical novel,isn’t just a timely and realistic look at the consequences of making abortion illegal—it is also a story about sexual freedom. Below, Diwan speaks with TIME about her experience of making a period film with current themes, her artistic process, and the type of conversation she hopes to spark withI got an abortion myself and wanted to read on the topic. A friend advised me to read.
I kept thinking about the way the young girl [in the book] talks about her sexual desire and pleasure. I understand that. She also talks about intellectual desire. I wanted to make a movie talking about freedom. And it also involved illegal abortion. I was not like, “I’m going to do a political manifesto.” What is political in my work is this relationship to freedom.
While this is a period piece, the themes are not of the past. Women still face harsh, tightening laws both around the world and in the U.S. thatI wanted to avoid [being a] period piece. Because what remains [the same] today is silence. It’s stunning. Those stories are supposed to stay silent. There is social shame. Boys and men are raised thinking, that’s not our story. And women are raised thinking, we should not talk about it.
So of course I wanted to make a story that can be seen as a nowadays story, because somewhere in the world, it’s always true. When I started writing it, I could have never ever imagined that it would be accurate in the United States.tightening abortion lawsI hope that [everyone] can find a way to break silence, to really talk about the matter and the topic. Nobody ever mentioned to me what an illegal abortion [really looks like].
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