{"id":13679,"date":"2024-08-21T16:57:34","date_gmt":"2024-08-21T16:57:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sbcine.be\/?p=13679"},"modified":"2024-08-21T16:57:35","modified_gmt":"2024-08-21T16:57:35","slug":"ruben-impens-on-shooting-animale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sbcine.be\/?p=13679","title":{"rendered":"Ruben Impens on shooting Animale"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Emma Benestan\u2019s <\/em>Animale<\/em> <\/em>explores the world of bullfighting through the eyes of Nejma, a young woman forming her path in a world dominated by men. Set in Camargue, France, a region notorious for its bullfighting traditions, Nejma dreams of winning the local bullfighting competition. After news of a rogue bull, the local community is soon plagued by a series of brutal murders. The film was masterfully captured by DP Ruben Impens. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 16, Impens first became attracted to filmmaking after visiting a film set, which put everything in motion. \u201cThat was the spark. I saw a guy behind the camera on set and before then I had obviously watched films and I went to the cinema a lot as my parents didn\u2019t own a TV, but that made me realise that there were people doing this for a living,\u201d he begins. \u201cMy uncle was a producer and that helped of course and was an entry door. I went to film academy, but I didn\u2019t finish. I did lots of TV stuff and worked in different departments, including as a gaffer and a trainee.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Impens then later worked with DOP Frank van den Eeden for a couple of years and later as a clapper loader for Walther van den Ende. \u201cWalther was very inspiring for me and I could steal a lot with my eyes. I had at least five or six years where I was able to make a living from hanging around on film sets and at the same time shooting short films,\u201d says Impens. \u201cI also shot Felix van Groeningen\u2019s first feature film, Steve + Sky<\/em> in 2004. Since that first feature, I considered myself a cinematographer. I was lucky to be able to have a relationship with a couple of directors I got along with. Felix of course was the most important one as we\u2019ve done eight movies together, which is quite unique. I\u2019m prepping my third movie now with Julia Ducournau and I had no idea if she\u2019d ask me again. I don\u2019t take it for granted. I\u2019m excited. It\u2019s an interesting relationship you have with a director. It\u2019s intense for a short period and then some time passes and they come back with another project. It\u2019s beautiful in a way.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When Impens received the <\/em>Animale<\/em> script, he thought it was original, but also saw it as a big challenge. \u201cI met with director Emma Benestan,\u201d says Impens. \u201cEmma came to Ghent and we went for a walk and some drinks. The initial process of directors and cinematographers meeting is like dogs sniffing around each other and seeing what happens. Sometimes you click and then the project doesn\u2019t get greenlit and it dies. This is the crazy, but also interesting part of our job. It\u2019s very unpredictable. For example, I\u2019m in the middle of shooting a Dutch movie called Joe<\/em> Speedboot<\/em>. The main actor is in a wheelchair and he needs to do some arm wrestling for the movie. He was doing some for fun after a shooting day and ended up breaking his upper arm. So, you\u2019ve done 60% of the movie and then the whole thing collapses. It\u2019s pretty unpredictable.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Impens looked at Julio Medem\u2019s work as reference during the research process for Animale<\/em>. \u201cI looked at Medem\u2019s Vacas<\/em>. He has this very interesting and surrealist side to his work. I found his work very inspiring. We also looked at An American Werewolf in London<\/em>,\u201d notes Impens. \u201cIn the original Animale<\/em> <\/em>script there was more mystery. The pace of the movie is fast and efficient, but the original script had a softer pace and more reflective moments. We still have those moments, but there was one scene with a blackhole where Nejma disappears. We had to make creative choices and we couldn\u2019t fit it all in with the shooting days.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When it came to Impens initial conversations with Benestan about the look of the film, they discussed the idea of the Western, with it\u2019s dusty and gritty setting. \u201cOf course, with the film\u2019s very flat landscape we picked the scope format,\u201d adds Impens. \u201cAt the same time, it was a very mobile camera and it\u2019s all very subjective from Nejma\u2019s perspective. For me it felt organic. The biggest challenge that we faced was logistics. We also had some difficulties with production design. Filmmaking is working with people and different ideas. The start-up was a bit complicated and of course we had to deal with these animals that we wanted to shoot from nearby. I was intrigued and I didn\u2019t know that bullfighting was so big in Camargue. It\u2019s a world in itself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Impens worked hard to find local collaborators to help with the production. \u201cWe quickly found a guy who had a big ranch and animals. He\u2019d done a couple of commercials previously. He understood quite quickly the language and what we were trying to achieve. Without him it would have been impossible to make the film. I have a lot of respect for him. The problem is that they keep these bulls wild otherwise it doesn\u2019t work. They bring them in the arena and they have to be scared. The more guts the bulls have to resist then the higher the points are. The size of these farms in Camargue are immense. We went to one farm that was massive and when you drive in there you can\u2019t even see the animals. It was really something.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of Impens main concerns was the audience\u2019s emotional resonance with Nejma. \u201cI thought if you can emotionally follow Nejma and you feel for her, then I think we succeeded,\u201d says Impens. \u201cOulaya Amamra is an amazing actor and very promising. I think we will see her in more things. She\u2019s amazingly talented and it was a pleasure to work with her. We also spoke in depth about the ending and it had many forms. At a certain point it was in these low water parts and then she would stand up naked, but then it would have been too sexualised. It was complex, but finally I think we did it in the right way and I can\u2019t see a way of doing it better. The final transformation was achieved with prosthetics. They were done by Olivier Afonso whom I met on Titane<\/em>. He\u2019s also doing Julia\u2019s next film. He did an amazing job. For the final transformation there is a part done digitally, but a lot of it is prosthetics. That was cool to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The overall shoot lasted 31 days, although 35 were originally scheduled. \u201cSimilarly, the one I\u2019m prepping now we had 50, but ended up with 41. Filmmaking has become so expensive after Covid. It has always been, but it\u2019s even more so now. I think in France, especially it\u2019s always more expensive,\u201d explains Impens. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Impens opted to shoot the film using a RED, which he admits was slightly out of his comfort zone. \u201cI always had this love hate relationship with RED. I was also looking for a small camera that could fit on a gimbal. I needed two bodies for the shoot and they were less expensive than the Alexa. RED have quite a bad reputation in Belgium and they have a horrible way of branding their cameras. But the image was fine and it was good for this film. We were looking for this slightly warmer desaturated look anyway and we got that from this camera. It was good size and I was happy with it. The lenses I used were Zeiss Supreme. So, it was quite straightforward.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Capturing the bullfight sequences proved to be particularly challenging, especially with the added danger Impens faced while shooting. \u201cThe goal was to really be on theirlevel,\u201d he explains. \u201cAll of these fights you are seated much higher, but we wanted this lower perspective, from Nejma\u2019s perspective, to give a subjective feeling from her perspective. We tried everything for these shots. We even built a cage that I sat in. At one stage the camera actually goes into the arena because I wanted to be closer. So, I asked one of the bull trainers because I was too scared to do it. You are completely exposed and the bull\u2019s horns can kill you. So, he was happy to try it and we came up with a plan. I gave him a camera and he did it and it really comes together. I\u2019m happy that nobody really got hurt because there is a real risk with these kinds of projects. When we were in prep, one of the actors, Vivien Rodriguez, was putting a stamp on a young bull. Part of the ritual is to grab them and he broke three ribs during the process. So, I thought the shoot was over, but he was fine after two weeks, we just rescheduledhis scenes. I didn\u2019t believe he\u2019d be fine, but he was. They are fearless.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Impens enjoyed the process of making Animale<\/em>, one aspect he won\u2019t miss is the mosquitos. \u201cIt\u2019s insane. You can have a white horse in the Camargue and when the sun goes down it turns into a black horse due to being completed covered in mosquitos. At one stage I had 85 bites. The locals seem immune to it and you feel stupid for it, but I still enjoyed it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Oliver Webb\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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