Gaspar Noé BFI Southbank
Gaspar Noé talks about his career, including his new film Vortex
BFI Q&A – British Film Institute (2022)
This video is a public Q&A session organized by the British Film Institute (BFI) in London, released on the BFI’s official YouTube channel to coincide with the release of Vortex in 2022. Gaspar Noé reflects both on his entire career and on this film, which represents an important turning point in his work.
A look back at a unique career
Gaspar Noé traces the major milestones of his filmography, from his beginnings with Carne and Seul contre tous to his most famous works (Irréversible, Enter the Void, Climax). He discusses his deliberately marginal position in contemporary cinema, embracing a confrontational approach to traditional narrative, aesthetic, and moral norms.
He emphasizes that his cinema has always focused on the viewer’s experience, rather than narrative alone, often exploring how images, sound, and editing can trigger physical and emotional reactions.
Vortex: a film of rupture
A large portion of the discussion is dedicated to Vortex, described as profoundly different from his previous works. Noé explains that he wanted to make a simple, intimate, stripped-down film centered on aging, illness, memory loss, and death.
He describes Vortex as a project inspired by personal experiences:
- his own serious health issues,
- the aging of close family members,
- and a broader reflection on the end of life and the passage of time.
Unlike his films often perceived as aggressive or provocative, Vortex is designed as a film without spectacular shocks, yet emotionally powerful, because it reflects a universal reality.
Formal devices
Noé discusses his choice of split screen, which allows the audience to follow the two main characters, played by Dario Argento and Françoise Lebrun, separately. This device is presented as a way to cinematically convey the characters’ progressive isolation, the desynchronization of body and mind, and the impossibility of fully sharing a common experience at life’s end.
He stresses that form is never decorative but always tied to meaning and emotion.
A cinema that remains radical
Even though Vortex represents a formal and thematic calm, Gaspar Noé affirms that he remains true to his vision of cinema:
- an art of freedom,
- hostile to formulas and imposed formats,
- willing to disturb or unsettle the audience.
He is critical of the industry and audience expectations while emphasizing the importance of continuing to experiment, regardless of age or recognition.
Direct interaction with the audience
The Q&A includes questions about his approach to actors, improvisation, music, and the potential evolution of his cinema. Noé responds in a direct, often pragmatic way, emphasizing intuition, chance, and personal necessity as creative drivers.
In summary
This BFI video provides a nuanced portrait of Gaspar Noé, far from his sole image as a provocative filmmaker. It highlights an artist aware of his journey, marked by time and human fragility, and whose Vortex stands as one of his most personal and profound films.