An Interview with Miryam Charles, director of Cette Maison

2008. Bridgeport, Connecticut. A teenage girl is found dead in her room. Going between spaces geographical, mental and historical, the film is an innovative exploration of concepts of identity, searching for a ‘maison’ (house) to shelter a complex identity.  

As a first-generation immigrant caught between Haiti and Quebec, director Miryam Charles uses the film to negotiate how transnational locales have shaped her identity. Her cousin’s death in 2008 serves as a harrowing backdrop that interrogates its impact through recollections and inventions with memory. Paralleling Quebec’s own struggles with independence, the film broaches complex questions on citizenship and nationalism. Here at Perspectives, we had the privilege of speaking with Miryam about her inspiration and artistic processes. 

Figure 1 Cette Maison is the protagonist’s exploration of her complex identity

Q: Since the film’s June release in Canada, what has the Canadian and Quebecian response been, particularly the political aspects of the last act? 

A: The film has not yet had a theatrical release in Canada, but it has been shown at the Hotdocs festival in Toronto, at VIFF in Vancouver, at the FNC in Montreal. I think that especially in Quebec, the reaction was interesting because I was told a lot that we had never seen the point of view of an immigrant family facing the 1995 referendum on film.

Q: You’ve talked at length about how the inspiration for the film comes from your own life. What were some minor details about the film that might have been more autobiographical than an audience realises?  

A: There are many elements, everything in the sets is heavily inspired by objects and furniture found in my family.  Also, many people assume that part of the film was shot in Haiti. All the exteriors. But it wasn’t. The context of the pandemic prevented us from doing so. So we shot the exteriors on the island of Dominica and in Saint Lucia. 

Figure 2 The breath-taking exterior shots in Cette Maison

Q: In finding a space, and by extension a house, for the tragedies this film deals with, do you think an audience can find a home for and from such experiences within cinema? That the “this” in the title refers to the cinematic space itself? 

A: I feel like I do. However, my primary goal with the film was to show that wherever there is love, there is home. It’s not so much connected to a specific place, but to specific people whether it’s family or friends. 

Q: Speaking of space, what struck me was the way you used theatrical sets as an alternative for space within the film. What practical and thematic concerns drove this artistic decision?  

A: There are two specific elements that led to this choice. First of all, with the pandemic, it was quite complicated to shoot in my family’s homes. With the producer, we thought of an alternative. I could wait or shoot in a studio. I chose the studio and with the art director, we chose to build the locations in an imperfect way. It was important for me that we felt that we were in the studio, that we felt the construction. It’s a film about memory, memories that we try to reconstruct. I wanted us to feel it in the sets as well.

Q: In choosing the form of the film, you adopted the lustrous 16mm. What influenced this choice and why was film particularly important for this story? 

A: My first answer is that I shot all my other films on 16mm. Back when I studied film (20 years ago), I was trained on Super 8 and 16mm film. I have continued to use this medium ever since. The second reason is that I wanted to shoot on film in Haiti. There are very few films shot on film that have been preserved. It was a way for me to pay homage to the country of my parents. Unfortunately, this did not happen. I think this adds a certain nostalgia to the film.

Figure 3 The film as a way to pay homage to the country of Charles’s parents

Q: Looking back at your development as a filmmaker, how has your short film work inspired and impacted your choice of medium and experience for this feature film?  

A: I think that ‘Cette Maison’ is in the continuity of my short films. The structure is quite similar to what I have done in the past. I deconstruct an event in order to find its meaning. There is also all the sound work in the design and music that is in continuity in order to create a cinema experience, rather than asserting a truth about the world.

Q: You shared in an interview with Three Fold Press that you didn’t intend to be a filmmaker. Could you share more with us about the journey from not intending to work in film to directing your own feature film?  

A: In fact, I originally wanted to work as a director of photography. It was really after a separation that I had a rethink and started writing. It wasn’t really planned that way. 

Q: While some have characterised your film as moving between Haiti, Canada and USA, this conjunction “between” seems inadequate since one’s identity would be simultaneously a combination of all three. How have this mix of identities impacted you both as an individual and a filmmaker?  

A: I’m not sure I have enough distance to answer that question. I would say that not having a single identity has made me a person who asks a lot of questions, who wants to understand the mechanisms.

Figure 4 The absence of a single identity has compelled Charles to be a person who asks a lot of questions

Q: For a Singaporean audience that might not understand Haitian traditions but still share a common love for and bonding over food, could you share about the significance of food in your film?  

A: Food, the way of preparing food and sharing it is very important in the Haitian culture. I couldn’t make this film without talking about and showing food. In Haitian culture, food is prepared as a family and eaten as a family. It’s interesting in the film that there is no real big family gathering (because of the pandemic). However, that didn’t stop me from showing this love for food that is intimately connected to Haitian culture and pride.

Q: Finally, since the name of our film festival emphasises the perspectives filmmakers share with the world, what would you say is the viewpoint you’d like your audience to appreciate through your works? 

A: I think that if the public can retain only one thing: that love is more important than anything else, I would be very touched. The film, which is very personal, has something universal about it. Everyone has experienced love, at least I hope so.