{"id":99136,"date":"2023-09-14T16:03:56","date_gmt":"2023-09-14T20:03:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=99136"},"modified":"2023-09-14T16:03:56","modified_gmt":"2023-09-14T20:03:56","slug":"feature-tiff23-director-chloe-robichaud-conductor-yannick-nezet-seguin-talk-film-days-happiness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2023\/09\/14\/feature-tiff23-director-chloe-robichaud-conductor-yannick-nezet-seguin-talk-film-days-happiness\/","title":{"rendered":"FEATURE | TIFF23:  Director Chlo\u00e9 Robichaud &amp; Conductor Yannick N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin Talk About The Film Days Of Happiness"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_99137\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-99137\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-99137\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/Copy-of-FEATURE-2.jpg\" alt=\"Sophie Desmarais in Les jours heureux\/Days of Happiness (Photo courtesy of TIFF)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/Copy-of-FEATURE-2.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/Copy-of-FEATURE-2-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/Copy-of-FEATURE-2-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/Copy-of-FEATURE-2-768x402.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-99137\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sophie Desmarais in Les jours heureux\/Days of Happiness (Photo courtesy of TIFF)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Days of Happiness\/Les Jours heureux, set in Montr\u00e9al\u2019s classical music scene, saw its world premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. Written and directed by Chlo\u00e9 Robichaud (Sarah Prefers to Run\/Sarah pr\u00e9f\u00e8re la course, Boundaries), conductor Yannick N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin worked with Robichaud to ensure that the details of the classical music world and its roles were portrayed with realism.<\/p>\n<p>The Canadian film stars Sophie Desmarais as a young conductor grappling with family pressures along with those of her profession, with co-stars Sylvain Marcel, Nour Belkhiria, and Maude Gu\u00e9rin, and cinematography by Ariel M\u00e9thot.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GdLoKvMH1rY?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<h3>The Story<\/h3>\n<p>The movie opens with a family scene at a lakeside cottage, one full of the kind of odd tensions common to those gatherings. Emma is alone on a float on the lake, awkwardly put in a position to ask for help. It sets the tone for an emotional character study of Emma, an emerging conductor who\u2019s dealing with a pressure cooker of influences from all sides.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s her father\/manager, and his overbearing and somewhat infantilizing way of dealing with her and her career. Then, there\u2019s her girlfriend, who doesn\u2019t seem to want\/need a relationship quite as much as Emma needs the full-time emotional support.<\/p>\n<p>As if those pressures weren\u2019t enough, her conducting residency is running out with nary a contract signing in sight. Can she play her cards strategically enough to get a real chance at the next step in her career? Will Dad let her breathe as a professional with her own sensibilities?<\/p>\n<p>On top of all that, can she find her own voice and vision as a conductor in a profoundly hierarchical world where listening to, and following, her mentor\u2019s advice is non-negotiable? Penetrating the fog to find her own vision as an artist becomes Emma\u2019s breakthrough, and her way forward.<\/p>\n<p>We spoke with Chlo\u00e9 and Yannick about the movie and more.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_99139\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-99139\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-99139\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-14.jpg\" alt=\"L-R: Chlo\u00e9 Robichaud (Photo: Alexis Goncalves); Yannick N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin (Photo: George Etheredge)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-14.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-14-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-14-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-14-768x402.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-99139\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">L-R: Chlo\u00e9 Robichaud (Photo: Alexis Goncalves); Yannick N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin (Photo: George Etheredge)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>The Interviews<\/h3>\n<p>Director Chlo\u00e9 Robichaud came to the world of classical music as an outsider, but a fascinated one. \u201cI was attracted at first just about the idea of having a young female conductor on the screen.\u201d It\u2019s a theme and a kind of character she\u2019s been drawn to in her other films.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI like to have women on screen in positions that we\u2019re not used to seeing. But, then I started doing the research, and I fell in love with the classical world, and I was like, how amazing is this classical music to tell a story?\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s very universal \u2014 everyone can connect. It can tell a story without using words.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yannick N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin, music director of the Orchestre M\u00e9tropolitain, the Metropolitan Opera, and the Philadelphia Orchestra, recently also served as consultant to Bradley Cooper in taking on the role of Leonard Bernstein in the biopic Maestro. But, his involvement with Les jours heureux goes back a couple of years or more.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChlo\u00e9 Robichaud contacted me as part of her research. She wanted to ask me questions. She said, I\u2019m writing a scenario. I\u2019m interested about conducting; I need to ask you a few questions. I remember the phone conversation, and of course, I knew her work,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought it was intriguing, but didn\u2019t quite know where this was going. When she officially asked me, can I go and observe rehearsals, and explained to me the scenario, I was really all in, because I thought this was a film that would showcase the art form that I love \u2014 symphonic music, classical music \u2014 but in a very emotional and true way, where music plays a role of emotional liberation. That I think is unusual.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He notes that Hollywood seems to be taking more interest in the classical music world in general of late, including films like T\u00e1r, and Chevalier, and the emphasis now is on realism. Historically, the movie world\u2019s favourite use of conductors and classical music in general is as as kind of stereotype or exotic milieu.<\/p>\n<p>Last year\u2019s T\u00e1r, in particular, is an obvious comparison.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cT\u00e1r came very much as a surprise for us, because Chlo\u00e9 has been writing her scenario for years. It always involved a woman, and it always involved a relationship with a cellist. So that was kind of eerie, to be the same,\u201d he says, \u201cbut the movies are so different.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As Emma, Sophie conveys much without speaking in the movie. It\u2019s her body language that tells us her state of mind. \u201cWhen I started writing the synopsis, I thought, I need Sophie for that,\u201d Chlo\u00e9 says. She notes her intelligence as an actress.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSophie spent a good two years preparing for this role,\u201d Yannick says. He notes that the first thing she asked him was what music theory books she should be studying. He was surprised \u2014 he assumed she\u2019d simply be faking it. \u201cAt the end of the day it becomes more choreography than conducting, but she didn\u2019t want to take any shortcuts. She really listened to the music, and watched a lot of videos.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He had two collaborators for her training. \u201cSometimes Sophie would want three lessons a week!\u201d he laughs.<\/p>\n<p>Chlo\u00e9 says that the last six months were particularly intense.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe has a very strong, what I call inner life, so she doesn\u2019t need to have words. You just put a camera on Sophie,\u201d she explains. \u201cI needed that. It\u2019s all about body language, and how the body speaks for her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her demeanour changes over the course of the film, and with each piece of music she works on.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSophie was really good at that, at finding the nuances in the movement,\u201d Chlo\u00e9 says. Sophie was naturally a little nervous at first to stand in front of the seasoned musicians of l\u2019Orchestre M\u00e9tropolitain, even in the controlled environment of rehearsals for the film. \u201cI told her, use that, use your own nervousness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>They shot the scenes of Mozart first, so that Sophie\u2019s real tensions come through in character. As she progressively loosens up as an actress, the production used her real world evolution to mirror that of Emma\u2019s in the film. \u201cIt was my priority to get that right.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_99140\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-99140\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-99140\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/TIFF23-Days-of-Happiness-1b.jpg\" alt=\"Sophie Demarais and Sylvain Marcel in Les jours heureux\/Days of Happiness (Photo courtesy of TIFF)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/TIFF23-Days-of-Happiness-1b.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/TIFF23-Days-of-Happiness-1b-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/TIFF23-Days-of-Happiness-1b-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/TIFF23-Days-of-Happiness-1b-768x384.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-99140\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sophie Demarais and Sylvain Marcel in Les jours heureux\/Days of Happiness (Photo courtesy of TIFF)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The prep shows. During the film, Emma goes through a transformation from a talented, but too uptight beginner, to someone who is beginning to come into her own.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThose nuances took a lot of time,\u201d Yannick says. \u201cIt\u2019s hard enough if you are a professional to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yannick points out that it\u2019s not only Emma\u2019s movements as a conductor that are realistic, but the general demeanour of the orchestra and musicians, the dynamic between conductor and orchestra. It\u2019s a world of civility, where people are focused on working together. However, there are tensions that come to the surface. In one scene, after Emma and the orchestra perform Schoenberg, a deep-pocketed sponsor offers a passive-aggressive critique of her choice \u2014 not a crowd favourite. That, too, is realistic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s showing also how this field is evolving at the moment,\u201d he adds. \u201cIt\u2019s showing that it\u2019s at least possible to be a young woman, a lesbian, on the podium, and people are accepting of that.\u201d In the story, Emma\u2019s relationship with her girlfriend is treated as matter of fact. \u201cNot so long ago, that would have been groundbreaking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It was Chlo\u00e9\u2019s dedication to presenting the world of classical music in its true form that drew him in. \u201cIt was that commitment to realism was kind of a condition for me to say yes to this film,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>Yannick conducts the Orchestre M\u00e9tropolitain in the film during the concert scenes. However, he says the musicians did play for Sophie during the rehearsal scenes. \u201cThey\u2019re playing for real \u2014 they\u2019re not air playing,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>For Chlo\u00e9, the music is intertwined with the story. \u201cJust the music is a character in the film in itself, and it\u2019s telling the journey of Emma,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n<p>The movie\u2019s sections are named after the composer Emma and the orchestra are tackling in the ensuing scenes: Mozart, Schoenberg, and Mahler. \u201cIt felt like chapters of her journey. It\u2019s to mark also, just like a symphony, the movements,\u201d says Chlo\u00e9.<\/p>\n<p>Chlo\u00e9 changed her approach visually for each to reflect Emma\u2019s evolution through the process. For Mozart, the scenes are well lit. \u201cThe way I frame it, the way I edit it, is more, I would say, classical. Technical,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen we arrive at the Schoenberg, we go to much more darker areas of my direction. Even the lighting, and the way I frame, is more expressionist. There is even, well Schoenberg is about dissonance, and the lenses I use are dissonant. I go from long lens to white lens; it\u2019s not something that you usually do. And then the Mahler, it was just connecting to the Mahler and the emotion of the music. The camera is flowing with the character at that point.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The pressure cooker environment that Emma faces in the movie is all too realistic for a young artist. \u201cIt completely is,\u201d Yannick confirms. Emma finds her strength and her voice through the music.<\/p>\n<p>The emphasis on the healing power of music is another aspect that drew Yannick to the project. \u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m very happy about it.\u201d How Emma interprets the music is also part of her own emotional state and development.<\/p>\n<p>He points out that changes in the classical music world, reflected in the film, also echo those of the larger world. \u201c[It\u2019s] how our society is reassessing now what it is to be a leader, and how vulnerability has to take a role,\u201d he explains. \u201cI try to teach young conductors that it\u2019s a lifelong thing, you know, you\u2019re never quite there. But, I try to teach that you need to accept your vulnerability, and that everything you\u2019re feeling inside is reflected in the music making.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Classical music may be having its moment in the movies right now. \u201cI don\u2019t know why this is happening,\u201d Yannick says, \u201cbut I know that for our art form, it\u2019s a great opportunity to just defuse to everyone what we believe in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s hope it lasts.<\/p>\n<p>The film will be presented in an event screening at <strong>Th\u00e9\u00e2tre Maisonneuve in the Place des Arts<\/strong> on <strong>October 16<\/strong>, with Yannick N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin and l\u2019Orchestre M\u00e9tropolitain in attendance. Les jours heureux will then go into general theatrical release on <strong>October 20<\/strong> in Qu\u00e9bec, and a bit later in the rest of Canada.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><em><b>#LUDWIGVAN<\/b><\/em><\/h3>\n<p class=\"western\"><em>Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><em>Sign up for the Ludwig van Daily \u2014 classical music and opera in five minutes or less <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/ludwig-van.us9.list-manage.com\/subscribe?u=4f785cb3f9058f2393ccad035&amp;id=57cdb68eac\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>HERE<\/em><\/a>.<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Days of Happiness\/Les Jours heureux, set in Montr\u00e9al\u2019s classical music scene, saw its world premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":99137,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[40430,875,4967,23,29,9567,63],"tags":[40768,3311,30394,3627],"yst_prominent_words":[6767,6715,8358,6616,16034,18435],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/Copy-of-FEATURE-2.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-pMY","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99136"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99136"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99136\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99141,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99136\/revisions\/99141"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99136"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=99136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}