Interview with Nadine Labaki (writer, director and star of Caramel) - October 26th, 2007

Promoting: Caramel
Venue: Sofitel Hotel
Interview type: One-on-one


ViewLondon (VL): So far, Caramel has been shown in France, Switzerland, Lebanon, Toronto, Dubai and Spain. What's the reaction to the film been like so far?

Nadine Labaki (NL): It's been amazing, everywhere we go. It's amazing how, even though the culture is different, people are reacting very warmly – it's a very warm feeling overall, it's a very positive reaction. People feel connected to this film, connected to the characters. They identify with them, they identify with the situations.

VL: I was amazed to read that the cast were all non-professional actors. Can you say a little about that?

NL: Yes, it's the first time they've acted. I wanted to use non-actors because I wanted to give the audience the impression that they were spying on other people's lives, not that they were watching a fiction with actors that were pretending to be someone else. I just wanted them to be who they were in life, to be the same in the film. So I didn't ask them to act, I just asked them to be. But the casting took a long time, it took over a year.

VL: It was your first film as a writer-director, so how difficult a decision was it for you to act in the film as well?

NL: It came when I started working on the casting and when I started auditioning the other parts. When I was playing Layale with them and I was with them in the scenes, it would create a very strong bond between us and it would just make the best come out of them. Because I was with them in the scene I could really direct it the way I wanted it and they would react to whatever I was saying. And it created something really strong, so that gave me the strength and the courage to say, yeah, I can do it. Even though it wasn't going to be easy, I decided to go along with it, because it really created something very special. And this friendship that happens in the film is a real friendship, you know, it's not fake. We really are all friends now. So it was not an easy adventure, but I'm happy with the result.

VL: The film reminded me a lot of Pedro Almodovar's films. Was he a particular influence?

NL: I absolutely love his films but he has a fantasy world where his situations are unreal or they're the result of his imagination or fantasies, whereas in my film it's based on reality and true things. But I think there's a similarity in that we both talk about women in a very loving way and I adore his films. Actually, the character of Gisele is a very Almodovarian character but it wasn't deliberate, although I take it as a compliment.

VL: Are there any other directors you admire?

NL: I love Lars Von Trier, the Coen Brothers, Woody Allen and an Iraqi director called Bahman Ghobadi.

VL: Do you know what your next film will be?

NL: No, I have many themes that I'd like to explore but I don't know yet. I'm still not obsessed with one. I need to be obsessed with something before I write about it, because I want it to be as true as possible. So I'm just waiting to see what will happen next.

Note: I've posted interview notes in the comments section below.