In the documentary “Stuntwomen” by Elena Avdija, which has its world premiere at the Zurich Film Festival, you do not become just a stuntwoman: you have to work for it. Sure, Virginie Arno, Petra Sprecher and Estelle Beguet do, but they can’t always display their skills.
Cinema is fascinated by sexual violence. “We love to see women suffer, kidnapped or raped,” Avdega says. diverse. These are the scenes whose heroes are usually asked to shoot.
“What we see on screen affects our society and the way we think. Seeing sexual violence makes it natural to our minds. We need to find new ways to talk about it, and Michaela Cowell’s ‘I May Destroy You’ is a wonderful inspiration.”
Petra Sprecher, who is also an actress, was recently seen in Westworld and Lovecraft Country. Arnault served as stunt coordinator on the Séries Mania anthology series “Syndrome E” and “Hors Saison”, while Piget appeared in Quentin Dupieux’s Cannes masterpiece “Smoking Causes a Cough”, and soon he will appear in “The Three Musketeers: AD”.
But the professional stunts industry is still a man’s world, Helmet notes, with few women able to access it. Those who do, especially in Europe, are stuck playing the role of victims.
“The European market isn’t crazy about action scenes. I prefer stunts in comedy, but in comedy, women still wear high heels and play dumb. Then we have more realistic movies, but sometimes that means [scenes of] Domestic violence, basically.”
“Virginie used to laugh, saying, ‘There is no business in love stories, unless they go badly’.”
For some, restarting can trigger such violent interactions.
“I think one in three women has been assaulted in her life. Virginie points out that if you’ve been through something like this, it’s easier to operate. But others find it much more difficult,” she notes.
Avdija shows action women trying to highlight the situation, but sometimes, the lines get a bit blurry.
“When they have to play the victim and their partner plays the oppressor, it’s a game. But I saw a guy – not in the movie – who seemed to enjoy it so much. You never know when the game stops and reality begins.”
Virginie Arnault
Those who want more out of their career tend to struggle to advance.
“Virginie is trying to focus on being a stunt coordinator, but it’s hard – this industry is a cartel. You have to belong to ‘family’ to get certain opportunities. These guys, they didn’t really understand why I was so focused on women. They made it difficult for me to shoot and they had a hard time. at work “.
However, they keep moving forward, eager to test how far they can go. Admitting that sometimes it’s “nice to jump into the void and not die,” even though their families may differ.
“There’s freedom in controlling your body, knowing exactly what it can do. I’m not an athlete, so I envy that. Also, we all know how it feels when our families don’t understand what we’re doing. My family had no idea, all these years I’ve been making this movie.” Avdija jokes. But she remains pragmatic about what the store has in store.
“There will always be work for women who are in athletics, because there will always be stories of women being hurt,” she says.
“I just hope those who come next get much better jobs. Maybe we just need great female directors to write new kinds of roles? Stuntwomen are more than just the characters they play. It applies to all of us, really. We are more than the opportunities we get in sometimes “.
He produced Stuntwomen Agnieszka Ramu, Marie-Lou Pahud and Ursula Meier for Bande à Part Films (Switzerland), and Cécile Lestrade and Elise Hug for Alter Ego Production (France).
“It was important for the producers to oversee this film,” Avdega adds.
“They really helped me find language for the story based on the experiences and traumas of these women. Someone who doesn’t just focus on their amazing physical abilities.”
Bande à Part Distribution handles distribution in Switzerland, and Andana Films takes care of international sales.
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