It was with a sense of lightness that author India Desjardins spoke to the media recently December 23, this year’s holiday movie is really great. Starring Virginie Fortin, François Arnaud, Catherine Brunet, Kylaine Tremblay, Michael Barrett and Bianca Gervais, it took him more than 10 years to produce. She tells us about it.
• Read more: Check out the best red carpet looks from the December 23 Christmas movie premiere
India, how are you?
It’s a special Christmas for me as this project, which I’ve been working on for 10 years, is finally seeing the light of day in theatres. I’ve been working on this film for so long that I’ve had both feet on Christmas Day for 10 years. So it’s special for me to see it finally come to an end.
How did this desire to make a Christmas film come about?
In 2011, I had a Christmas turned upside down by my stepfather’s heart attack. It made our day. I saw so many coincidences and shortcuts that I felt like a Christmas movie was being written before my eyes. I thought there were no Quebec vacation pictures. I was in Quebec and saw Petit Champlain, all the beautiful scenery and everything that inspired me. I wanted to make a modern Quebec film with a non-nuclear family, and that evening I wrote to producer Patrick Roy and my friend Guillaume Lesperance, who believed in my plan.
Why did it take 10 years to write this film?
It was long as it was an ensemble film. There’s a math there, and sometimes I just can’t get it. I was lucky to have people who believed in it so strongly and encouraged me. At times I lost my confidence and challenged myself a lot. I wanted the stories to influence each other, but I couldn’t. This is my first original movie script, not based on one of my novels like the movies Aurelie Laflamme, for example. Without Guillaume Lespérance this film would not have existed.
What do you have to do with Christmas movies?
I love this kind of film and I wanted a film from Quebec with our music and our sets. Most of the time, they come from other places and practice our tradition of kissing under the mistletoe. Nobody does that in Quebec. So at some point creating one became a task for me. This film is like fudge: it’s sweet, it’s soft, it’s comforting and it’s made with a lot of love.
Are you already thinking of doing a sequel?
I am retiring and keep saying this is my last film. So I take full advantage of my promotion day. This is my last one as I lack confidence and such big projects are too big for me. I put too much pressure on myself. So I can’t see myself torturing myself like this for another 10 years. I may change my mind, but for now I want to take a break from this type of project. At the same time, I love my characters and this universe so much that I want to let them live another adventure. But for now, I like the idea of pretending to retire from screenwriting. I want to live without pressure for a while and write my books slowly, at home. I don’t feel like having too many other projects at the same time. I need to take some time to catch my breath.
December 23 In theaters from November 25.
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