Toronto Film Festival: 'Eat, For This Is My Body,' Director Michelange Quay

bana2166 · Published by bana2166- 09-10-07

Movies Features

Notes from Toronto Film Festival: 'Eat, For This Is My Body,' Director Michelange Quay

Sep 9, 2007, 15:29 GMT

The Tag Line: "Haiti, a lonely forgotten black island."

Director Michelange Quay was available to discuss his film, "Eat, For This Is My Body" screening at the Toronto International Film Festival. Quay is an American-Haitian who collaborated with French producers, Les Films à Un Dollar, to bring this film to the festival and beyond.

Quay's film is the story of Madame, an older privileged white woman leaving in a fine house, isolated, up in the mountains.

One day, while her mother is about to die, the awakening of desire between Madame and her black servant boy, Patrick, leads her out of her isolation. They step out and go down into the discovery of the world's starving black masses.

Madame wants to give them all of herself, but inside, has hungers of her own, hungers that will bring her out of her waking dream into the world, into the Third World, into Haiti - to touch, smell, and see its people and for the first time allow herself to be touched, to be smelled, to be seen.

Quay's latest feature is a quiet, steady study in power. Some critics have been unnerved by the imagery, revealing potent forces of race and sex.

The story takes from the narratives of slavery, liberation, recolonization and Vodoun (voodoo) Quay's film is a study of power flowing between black and white.

I asked Michelange where did Madame's story emanate from.

"Wow. Hard to say. In all honesty, the film kind of wrote itself. One day, the main incantatory monologue of the Old White Woman that starts, 'Eat, For This Is My Body', came to me, and from then on, images, and ideas sort of attracted themselves around this core, magnetically, without design, by 'feeling.' "

Early reviews say your eye is visceral, sharp and you frame your actors artfully. Were you ever a cinematographer? What is your training in film?

"I'm not a cinematographer...not in this life! I went to NYU graduate film school, where I studied directing, but all my life I've been drawing, drawing, and drawing, which maybe develops some sense of composition."

What is the tragedy of Haiti, and who was ultimately to blame?

"Tragedy is a strong word. Haiti is paying for having emerged the first decolonized nation and after the United States and France, the third successful revolutionary republic in history...achieved by black slaves. In that history there is triumph, pride...and isolation that have followed Haiti up until today, into its relationships with its neighbors, particularly the United States. Tragic, magnificent, painful national karma."

I asked Quay if he will make an English language film next, or continue solely in French language.

"I could make a film in either language, or who knows, maybe another."

Quay told me about his love of Scotland, his gear, film stock and crew.

"Long live Glasgow (Monsters and Critics home) - a great city, and home of my favorite pub, the Holt, in the West End. It's also the home of our stills cameraman, Neil Davidson. He worked on ‘Last King of Scotland' and is an old dear friend of mine, from many travels ago.

We shot on 35 mmn interior days on Kodak 250D. Interiors and Exterior nights were shot on 500T (5218), and exterior days 50D (5245).

As for sound, we recorded in MS, and systematically used 2 DATs, so that, especially in Haiti we give value to the ambiances and give a sense of immersion in the 'real.' "

Quay had great praise for his assembled cast.

"Sylvie Testud is an actress I had always admired since, the beginning of her film career. I was amazed to discover how precise she could be technically. Often her 'inner eye' was even more precise than my normal eye for certain takes. We never discussed any ulterior meanings for this film - minimal communication...again, we worked by "feeling", and sculpted the texture of the film scene after scene.

This goes equally for Hans St Val, her co - lead. He's a first time actor, but a gifted musician, and with Sylvie they could hear each other in space, so to speak, and co created with me, the tone and tempo.

Catherine Samie is one the most generous actors, or even people, I've ever met,

and one felt with her the confidence of her vast experience. She would open herself for each take like a fountain, and it was for us to discover, each time what pearls would come down in front of us. Each take was its own whole universe."

When can Americans see this film in your estimation?

"Toronto is its world premiere, and its meeting with its first public is the start of a dialogue that I hope will bring the film before Americans very, very soon!

Background:

Michelange Quay was born in New York City. He studied anthropology and filmmaking at the University of Miami and received his M.F.A. in directing at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.

He has directed the short films Myth of Seus (96), Forty Days (98), Qu'on leur donne des yo-yo (02) and L'Évangile du cochon créole (04). Eat, for This Is My Body (07) is his first feature film.

Eat, for this is my body

TIFF schedule of screenings:

Monday September 10 07:30PM ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM

Wednesday September 12 03:30PM CUMBERLAND 2

Friday September 14 08:30PM VARSITY 4

Production Company: Les Films à un Dollar

Producer: Tom Dercourt

Screenplay: Michelange Quay

Cinematographer: Thomas Ozoux

Editor: Jean-Marie Lengellé

Production Designer: Valérie Massadian

Sound: Nicolas Leroy