Juliette Binoche, known for her profound acting career, has revisited a unique chapter of her artistic journey through the creation of her documentary, In-I In Motion. The project revisits an experimental dance work titled in-i, which Binoche initially collaborated on with dancer Akram Khan in 2008. This piece portrayed the unraveling of a relationship and was performed around 120 times worldwide. Binoche’s sister, Marion Stalens, had earlier chronicled the production with a documentary called Juliette Binoche dans les yeux in 2009. Now, after sixteen years, Binoche herself has crafted this comprehensive film by weaving together the original footage with 170 hours of raw outtakes and rehearsal material, forming her directorial debut.
Binoche’s Presence and Retrospection at Busan International Film Festival
At the recent Busan International Film Festival, Binoche actively participated through interviews, question-and-answer sessions, and a master class focusing on this new documentary. The festival highlighted her extensive cinematic contributions by featuring classics such as Three Colors: Blue and The Lovers on the Bridge, alongside the screening of In-I In Motion. Throughout her career, Binoche has collaborated with luminaries including Jean-Luc Godard, Leos Carax, Abbas Kiarostami, Hou Hsiao-hsien, and Hirokazu Kore-eda, marking her significant presence in world cinema.
Challenges and Insights in Shaping the Documentary
Reflecting on her film’s length and structure during a press conference, Binoche candidly admitted the documentary was still a work in progress. She shared,
Image of: Juliette Binoche
“I know it’s too long as a film,”
and continued,
“The experience of watching the film at San Sebastian was eye-opening. The next time you see me in another festival, the film will be different. It needs to be better, because right now it’s repetitive in the monologues and scenes.”
Her deep dive into the editing involved scrutinizing hours of footage, rehearsals, and outtakes alongside the original documentary material. Humorously, she remarked on the physical toll of this meticulous viewing process, stating,
“I found it very difficult to sit down for hours and days and years. The lower back pain I didn’t like very much.”
To shape the narrative, Binoche collaborated with three editors and applied an unconventional approach by arranging scene photographs on a whiteboard in her painting studio. This method highlighted the contrast between live theater’s immediacy and the cinematic medium’s intimacy. She noted,
“You don’t have the same perceptions. People who have seen the show will have a certain memory of it. But when I can use close-ups, they will see the show in a different way. The choices you make as a director affect the way people will perceive the piece. That was so important for me.”
Reassessing Improvisation and the Physical Demands of Dance
Binoche addressed the improvisational segments with Akram Khan, revealing her initial admiration turned to disappointment when reviewing the material. She admitted,
“turned out to be largely crap.”
Despite this, the documentary presents the intense physical challenges faced during the production. Binoche and Khan’s candid discussions emphasize they share a core understanding of art’s demands, with Binoche asserting, “Dance is about suffering,” and Khan responding, “So is acting.”
The film also captures Binoche’s work with acting coach Susan Batson and rehearsal and movement coach Su-Man Hsu. Their collaborative efforts refined Binoche’s dance while blending her acting insights with Khan’s training. She recalled instructing the dancer:
“You don’t stop acting because you’ve reached the end of your lines.”
Then citing Batson, she added,
“Susan said if you only count and think of movement while you dance, it’s crap. You’ve got to lift your actions to movement. That was my challenge.”
Artistic Philosophy and the Role of Intuition in Creation
Binoche reflected on the essence of engaging with a new art form, highlighting sensation as central to creativity. She explained,
“It’s possible to do another art form, even though you know nothing about it, when you start with a sensation. That’s the key to any art. You start from an inside world. The form doesn’t matter. You have to be true and real and personal.”
The editing process particularly tested Binoche’s ability to harmonize her personal memories with the raw film footage, a challenge she described as fundamental to directing. She noted,
“Finding the equilibrium is what directors do. It took me a while watching dailies to find that path. Intuition is intuition. You don’t know why you have a feeling, but you have it. You can’t explain why.”
Memories from Working with Krzysztof Kieślowski
Discussing her previous work, Binoche recounted experiences on the set of Three Colors: Blue. She drew inspiration for her character from a language coach who had suffered great personal loss. Binoche recalled her creative tensions with Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski, who was influenced by a tradition where film was costly and shots were limited. She explained,
“Most of the time he just wanted to do one take,”
describing her pleas:
“We would rehearse like five times and then do only one take. I was fighting, saying, ‘Krys, I have to do one more please.’”
Binoche noted that Kieślowski struggled to accept variations in performance during the take compared to rehearsals. She shared,
“It was hard for him to understand that I’m not a mechanical kind of actress. My work needs to be coming from a more mysterious place. It was a fight to get a second take, unless there was a technical problem with the camera or sound. So sometimes I had to say, ‘Hey, Krzysztof, I had a technical problem.’ It became a kind of joke between us.”
She felt compelled to push for additional takes to avoid dwelling on the same performance repeatedly, emphasizing the director’s decisions often happen during editing rather than filming. Binoche playfully challenged Kieślowski by saying,
“You’re in France now, you can do as many takes as you want. mk2 [the production company] has lots of money.”
Although tough to persuade, she described the filming process as joyous.
The Impact of Parenthood on Artistic Life
Binoche revealed that Kieślowski had intended a new trilogy about paradise, purgatory, and hell before his death in 1996. She also recounted personal milestones, sharing,
“Just after Blue I got pregnant,”
marking the passage of 32 years since then with a son of the same age. Balancing motherhood with her career, she candidly described the tension of traveling globally while nurturing her children. She said,
“With Certified Copy I had two children in my life. It’s very challenging. You feel responsible as a mother and as an artist. It’s a crazy life traveling all over the world. You want to make a life for your children, to have them feel protected. But there are moments when they feel abandoned.”
Films Missed and Loyalty to Collaborators
Binoche also shared a lighthearted anecdote about missing films she might have enjoyed, such as Jurassic Park. She admitted initially declining Three Colors: Blue to complete The Lovers on the Bridge, a complex project that took years. Trusting her commitment, she said,
“I gave my word to Leos. I couldn’t go back on that.”
Highlights and Atmosphere at the Busan International Film Festival
The Busan International Film Festival celebrated its 30th anniversary with 328 films, including 90 world premieres. The opening featured No Other Choice, a dark adaptation by Park Chan-wook of a Donald Westlake novel. The festival’s closing film, Gloaming in Luomu by Zhang Lu, claimed the first Best Film Award in the event’s history.
This year introduced a Competition category, distributing over twenty awards and recognizing talents such as Sylvia Chang, Marco Bellocchio, and Jafar Panahi. Chang presented her new role as producer for the sci-fi drama Measure in Love. Notable attendees included Michael Mann, hosting a master class on his film Heat and hinting at a sequel; Guillermo del Toro with Frankenstein; Bi Gan with Resurrection; the director and cast of Kokuho; and an unexpected appearance by Tony Leung Chiu Wai supporting Ildiko Enyedi’s Silent Friend.
Emerging Talent and Trends in Coming-of-Age Films
The festival had strong representation of coming-of-age stories, spotlighting several films portraying high school students navigating complex personal and social challenges. Titles such as Amoeba, The Accordion Door, Funky Freaky Freaks, En Route To, and ALL GREENS explored themes including broken families, substance problems, unrequited love, bullying, and academic failures.
In Amoeba, directed by Tan Siyou, four Singaporean classmates confront college decisions threatening their friendships. The film’s setting is a highly controlled school environment where minor acts of rebellion provoke significant reactions from teachers and parents. This resonates with the plot of Happyend, also centered on constrained adolescent life.
Son Kyeong-su’s directorial debut, The Accordion Door, combines science fiction with a coming-of-age narrative about a misunderstood youth. The festival honored Moon Woo-jin as Actor of the Year for his nuanced performance.
Funky Freaky Freaks, by Hang Chang-lok, is a stark exploration of nihilism divided into three parts, following students whose lives spiral toward violence. The film’s dynamic use of color and editing contributes to its bleak yet vibrant atmosphere, winning the Special Jury Award.
ALL GREENS, directed by Koyama Takashi, brings a lighter tone, depicting three outcast girls in a rural Japanesetown who create a makeshift drug ring. Sara Minami stars as Boku, a rebellious wannabe rapper defying societal constraints.
En Route To subverts typical coming-of-age plots with unpredictable storytelling and strong performances. Reminiscent of Never Rarely Sometimes Always but distinguished by a sharper, caustic tone, it follows school roommates on a quest either to secure an abortion or expose a culpable teacher. Produced by the Korean Academy of Film Arts, it claimed the New Currents Award, with Lee Jiwon winning Best Actor for her powerful portrayal.
Looking Ahead to Future Festival Plans
Busan’s record attendance surpassed 238,000 visitors this year. Festival programmer Karen Park has announced plans to expand programming even further for the 31st edition scheduled for October 2026, promising a broader and more diverse lineup.
