Mumbai Film Festival: 'Victor’s History' director talks about digging below the surface

Victor’s History, written and directed by French/American director Nicolas Chevaillier, brings together three men who set off on a journey that threatens to turn their world upside down. Shot in documentary style, the film has been selected as the official entry for the New Orleans Film Fest as well as the Mumbai Film Festival. Shoaib Lokhandwala, one of the producers of the film, says that it was the universality of the subject that appealed to him. “I have always been a fan of films where microcosmic settings are used to represent a more global situation,” he says. Over to director Nicolas to shed more light on the film:

What was the intention or the initial germ of the idea behind making this film?

We wanted to see if it was possible to make a feature film with no crew. I had never heard of it being done, but was confident we could pull it off. We sat down and brainstormed ideas that would maximise what we have at our disposal — three “actors” with vastly different backgrounds, and some great locations available to us — and back-engineered a script around those elements.

While the story follows three people and is set in the present, is there a certain larger socio-political context it points to?

Victor, Dorian, and Zuhair are part of the new global generation; although they come from different backgrounds, different countries, different cultures, they speak the same language, laugh at the same jokes. On the surface, there is no reason for friction. But once you dig a little deeper, the ancestral wounds of conflict are not healed. Injustices have been ignored, responsibility hasn’t been taken, and reparations haven’t been made. The film, at its core, is about the narrative being re-appropriated by the historically voiceless, and the violent thrashing and death rattle of those losing their power.

The film has been shot in a documentary style. Why so? 

Logistically, shooting documentary-style allowed us to forego a traditional crew set-up. Having an actor in the film double up as cameraman means we have one less mouth to feed. Thematically, it was an important choice, as the film deals heavily with the idea that the historical record is doctored by those in power, to their own benefit. In our film, the viewer gets a rare glimpse of what’s really going on, before Victor has a chance to stack the deck in his favour. And just for the challenge, we wanted to make what was essentially a found-footage film, but break free of the horror genre connotations that are usually associated with that style of filmmaking.

As a filmmaker, what are the kind of subjects that interest you?

Cultural exchange and social injustice feature prominently in all my screenplays. I have trouble avoiding a good joke when the opportunity presents itself, and I feel strongly that humour can be found in the darkest places. I also enjoy bending genre by flipping conventions on their head.

Victor’s History to be screened tomorrow and day after at MAMI.