Vortex is a powerful and impactful film. As with most of your projects, you worked without a real script. But how did you manage to convince the producers?

"Securing funding for films without a script is difficult. I had written ten pages for this film in January 2021, but my producers told me, "With three characters, you can shoot the project in four weeks. We can pay for it and then find someone who wants to buy it."

"Securing funding for a film without a script requires a certain amount of trust. Fortunately, my producers had enough money and believed in me. The entire process of writing the film, shooting, editing, and delivering it took less than six months—it was incredibly fast. But I like working quickly. It's amazing to finish a film in such a short time. Sometimes, the distribution and promotion of a film take much longer than the creative process itself." GN

How did you develop the story?

"On set, we filmed with a three-page script, the only document we had. The twelve scenes for the rehearsal were written on a quarter of a page. They were then developed on set with the actors. During rehearsals, I was behind the camera. It became a kind of collaborative process. We developed the scenes based on my own ideas, but also on those of the director of photography, the actors, and the assistant director. I feel more confident this way. I wouldn't be comfortable with dialogue written and created using only my own vocabulary. It wouldn't be anything special. I can't invent four different ways of speaking for four different characters.

Furthermore, I think working with a complete script stifles the brain. For example, Dario Argento, who is a very charismatic director, doesn't necessarily have a very good memory. I believe he agreed to act in this film, firstly because he likes my films, but mainly because I told him, "I'm not going to give you a single line to learn. You're going to use your own French. You take care of your character, I'll take care of my camera." If I had given him lines to learn, he surely would have refused." GN

"I think that death can also be a positive way to escape from a certain physical or mental decline".



"I find it much easier to let people speak in front of the camera using their own words and body language. That's why many people feel the film has a documentary feel. The actors' performances remain free and natural. Even if you're not consciously aware of it, when you watch a film with scripted dialogue, you can see that the actors are recreating something. It's not as fluid as creating something in front of the camera." GN

Another distinctive feature of your work is this screen that is permanently divided in two. How did you come up with the idea?

"Before filming, I knew I wanted to use a split screen. It's a technique I'm familiar with, having used it several times in previous projects, and I thought it would work well with this film. But I wanted to play with the idea a bit more, using it in one scene and then a single screen in another. On the first day, we shot one sequence with a single camera and another with two. The next morning, I watched the footage from the first day of shooting and saw that the one with two cameras was much better. And even though I wanted to film some scenes with just one camera, I decided to shoot with two anyway, just in case I changed my mind. It was a good idea; it intensified the feeling of claustrophobia." GN

Why did you choose to talk about death within the family circle?

"I was in a similar situation with my mother, and I myself had an accident two years ago that could have left me with serious brain damage; fortunately, that wasn't the case. Even though the film isn't autobiographical—I don't have children and I have a sister—I still felt very connected to the character of Françoise Lebrun .

I think death can also be a positive way to escape a certain physical or mental decline. My mother's death was a gateway to a much better situation. There really wasn't a better solution. Seeing her die was painful, but it wasn't a bad ending; on the contrary, it felt very natural." GN

   To obtain funding for a film without a script, a certain amount of trust is required.

"To distance myself from my own story, I thought it would be good to stage the father's death. The situation also becomes more dramatic. He's the "protector." He takes care of her as she slowly weakens, and yet, he's the one who dies first. Although she had never said "my darling" before, she starts saying it, searching everywhere for it. A kind of drama within a drama. And since, after my mother's death, I felt that something was missing from the space around me, I had the idea for this empty half of the screen." GN

The screen is empty, but so is the apartment. Seeing it at the end gives you a real feeling of claustrophobia.

"Yes, many people have told me that, in addition to the main characters, they saw the apartment as an entity in its own right. At the end of the film, we also witness his death, and many people have told me that for them, it was the most dramatic moment in the entire film.

Similarly, the son's repeated drug use after the loss of his parents shows, for many, the impact that death can have on loved ones.

The topic of "Vortex" is important. It's essential to discuss it with your loved ones as soon as possible. This is a crucial conversation to have before something happens. It's universal; it happens in every family, so it's important to talk about it!" GN