Anaïs in Love director Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet and star Anaïs Demoustier open up about how they made one of the year’s best romance films.
Anaïs in Love is not your typical romantic comedy. In fact, some people may not even see it as one. The film, which marks writer-director Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet’s feature directorial debut, tells a breathless and charming story about one woman whose restless pursuit of joy leads her to seek out the female partner of a man she’d previously been having an affair with. In its tone, attitude, and presentation, Anaïs in Love has more in common with the films of Éric Rohmer and Noah Baumbach than it does with When Harry Met Sally or Notting Hill. But Anaïs in Love also has all of the things that a good romantic comedy requires. It has a playful sense of humor from its first scene to its last, several laugh-out-loud jokes and visual gags, and two charming, charismatic performances from Anaïs Demoustier and Valeria Bruni Tedeschi. It is also bursting at the seams with joy and romance and features one of the most delightful inversions of the standard rom-com meet-cute of any movie of the past few years. Bourgeois-Tacquet and Demoustier spoke with Digital Trends about crafting the film’s unique love story. They also reveal how their filmmaking collaboration began and open up about what Demoustier calls the “complicated, paradoxical process” of getting into the head of a character who refuses to be analyzed. Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity purposes. Digital Trends: The first thing I’m curious about is: How did you two meet, and how did that lead to Anaïs in Love? Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet: We met back when I was writing my short film Pauline asservie, which was produced by Stéphane Demoustier, and when it came to casting the main character we both thought of Anaïs, who happens to be Stéphane’s sister.
