Young Critics Lab

24 décembre 2024

FEMMES DE CINEMA - by Anja Šćepanović

On Friday, December 20th, the talk “Femmes de cinéma” brought together actresses Noomi Rapace and Ariane Labed for an informal but powerful conversation about women in cinema. Moderated by Léolo Victor-Pujebet and Fabienne Silvestre, co-founder of Le Lab Femmes de cinema – a think tank initiated by the festival to promote diversity in film – the discussion served as an intimate look into how they navigated their careers in an industry traditionally dominated by men.

Noomi Rapace is a Swedish actress who starred in the Swedish film adaptations of the “Millenium Trilogy” and films such as “Prometheus” (2012) and “Lamb” (2021). Ariane Labed, a Greek-French actress and an emerging director, is best known for her performances in “Attenberg” (2010), “The Lobster” (2015) and “Alps” (2011). She recently directed her first feature, “September Says”, which was screened at the Les Arcs Film Festival and won the UniversCiné prize in the Hauteur selection. Together, they discussed their roles and experiences as women in cinema while pointing out challenges they continue to face.

The conversation began with reflections on their first encounters with acting. Rapace grew up in a small Icelandic village, where her family worked for a community of individuals with Down’s syndrome. At just seven years old, Rapace "slid in" to play an extra in a film after one of the boys landed a role. Labed slipped into ballet shoes at the age of six and was convinced she’ll become a professional dancer. Even before she started ballet, she took a part in a play where she was supposed to play dead: “I freaked out because I couldn’t understand that it was fiction. I thought they were gonna kill me”, she recalled. Her sister ultimately took over the role. 

At sixteen, Labed shifted her focus to theatre but didn’t consider cinema until later. She felt lucky that her first experience with film was with a female director Athina Rachel Tsangari, because she could “connect with her vision”. Rapace reflected on her own journey, revealing that she grew up with male role models, which initially made her feel like her options in the film world were limited.

Labed pointed out a lack of representation in portraying female characters in film: “We definitely need more voices of women. We also need diversity and to show what it means to be a woman in this world. It’s not only being a skinny white woman, it’s way more complex than that.” Rapace mentioned she struggled for a long time with how sex scenes were handled – even by female directors prone to internalizing the male gaze because that’s what the audience is mostly exposed to. “I felt sort of abused and uncomfortable”, she admitted.

Rapace recalled refusing to do a lesbian sex scene in a project, feeling it was out of place and added solely to “spice things up” rather than serve the story. Both actresses agreed that learning to say no to directors’ requests was quite a challenge. Labed elaborated: “I think sex scenes can be interesting, and I’m not saying cinema should get rid of them. We just need to learn how to talk about sex. I think men have been lazy about it, relying only on their fantasies.” Rapace stated that nudity in cinema needs a purpose, noting, “We’re often overfed with unnecessary nudity.”

They also touched on the cancel culture within the film industry and how it has been redefining the idea of what is considered acceptable. “Ingmar Bergman was terrible to his actors and wives. Today he wouldn’t be allowed to work, I think”. Yet both agreed there is still progress to be made. Labed shared her shock when “Last Tango in Paris” was recently scheduled to be screened at The French Cinematheque, despite the widespread criticism of its treatment of gender representation, consent and boundaries of art. “Maybe they did great things,” Rapace concluded, “but at what cost?“

Anja Šćepanović