Interview Cecilia Guichart

INTERVIEW WITH PRODUCER, WRITER AND

ACTRESS CECILIA GUICHART ABOUT

SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT AND A MESSAGE OF HOPE

Q: What is the main message of your screenplay Livrées à leurs sens?

Cecilia Guichart: First of all, it is a story about a couple that could be any couple. In the case of Livrées à leurs sens, that couple is gay. The main two characters are Alma and Sam. I wanted to write a story, where everybody could identify with the personality of the characters and not the fact that they were gay. In any relationship, to make things work, is not always easy. Each has his/her own fears. To maintain harmony and balance between a couple, often consists of a dosage of compromises, patience and love of course.

Secondly, I wanted to bring another perspective on same-sex marriage. Nowadays, it is not possible for gay couples to get married anywhere. In some countries homosexual behaviour is even condemned by law. I hope that someday it will be a normality to choose your partner without gender restraint. We live in times when technology has advanced at a quick pace, whereas societal progress and modernization lags behind. I really hope that one day same-sex marriage will be permitted everywhere and that the struggle for such equality will become a distant memory.

Love is not a matter of gender; love is a matter of person. We do not choose to fall in love and certainly not with whom. We fall in love with a person and that person can be of the same sex or not. The genie in fairy tales, who can make three wishes come true, could still not force anybody to fall in love. You just cannot choose the person you fall in love with. And there is no room for gender choice.

Q: How do you see the character of Sam who you represent in this short movie?

Cecilia: I have constructed Sam as a passionate and intense character, who does not have a sense of proportion. She is always overdoing. This hides her insecurity, as she is afraid of not being enough. She believes in something bigger than us and of course, she believes in LOVE. I also see her talking a lot and about everything. Sam hates silence and whenever something is wrong, she needs to let it out.

She does not let go easily. But she is also a person who will fight for other people, for friendship and for love. Sam is a sensual person who enjoys the little pleasures in life and can be happy about a cappuccino and a piece of chocolate. She is also nostalgic in someway and remembers about her childhood. Sam is a passionate and caring woman. But we will see with director Petar how we will give her life.