Martin Provost, Séraphine

Thin, with a trimmed beard and
glasses, Martin Provost looks very much the 21st century
filmmaker. But for Séraphine - which recently won
the César Awards for Best Picture, Best Actress (Yolande Moreau)
and Best Screenplay -, Provost proves himself an adept anachronist by
recreating pre-World War I France in the tiny village of Senlis. The film is based on the life of
Séraphine Louis, an artist who painted because
her guardian angel told her to; she was discovered by a gay German art
collector from Paris who had previously championed Henri Rousseau and a young Picasso. Provost talks about casting
the luminous Moreau, the history and his embellishments of it and how Séraphine de Senlis is
being rediscovered.

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