Maïwène Barthelemy, 22, a BTS animal production student, discovered cinema by landing, somewhat by chance, a role in Vingt Dieux, awarded at Cannes. Between studies and the red carpet, she recounts this unexpected adventure which could well be the start of a career.
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Maïwène Barthelemy is 22 years old and is a BTS animal production student at Vesoul Agro-campus. In just a few months, she went from being an apprentice on a dairy farm to the big screen, red carpet and Cannes Film Festival. For good reason, she plays the role of Marie-Lise in the feature film by Jurassian Louise Courvoisier, Vingt Dieux, a funny portrait of rural youth. The film that competed in the category A certain look won the youth prize. This film is the story of Totone, an 18-year-old Totone, whose days are punctuated by beer, friends and dances in the Jura. But reality finally catches up with him and he must take care of his seven-year-old sister and find a way to provide for them. He then sets himself an ambitious challenge: produce the best county in the region to win the gold medal in the agricultural competition and win the 30,000 euros at stake.
But we can't say that being an actress was one of her life goals. While her trainer suggests that Maïwène and her classmates take part in the casting, the young woman takes it as a joke and goes for it on a whim. “It started from a madness with a friend, I turned around in class, I said to her 'oh come on, we're going to do the casting for fun'. And in fact, it got more and more serious”, she remembers with a laugh.
Vingt Dieu, a very Franc-Comtois title and a film where the accent is very strong. “This is what the director wanted”, raises Maïwène. A Franche-Comté director, who wanted to show, through this film, the traces of an agricultural heritage. “She wanted to highlight the county's production, the Montbéliarde breed and the Jura. And she did it very well”, continues the young actress. She also underlines the humanism that emerges from Louise Courvoisier. “She really gave us confidence and allowed us to feel comfortable during filming. We were very well surrounded and supported”, adds the one who has never done theater and suddenly finds herself in the spotlight.
And for a first experience in cinema, we can say that it was successful. The film won an award at the Cannes Film Festival. How do you experience climbing the steps among the greatest actors in the world when you come from Raincourt (Haute-Saône) and not destined for acting? “It was very impressive, very stressful. But we made the most of it, we were amazed. We took full advantage of the moment even if we were a little wondering what we were doing there. We were a bit like the little ones in the middle of the big ones”, explains the actress. It was in Cannes that she saw the film for the first time. And the least we can say is that Maïwène found that “impressive”. “At first, we don't dare look at ourselves too much. But then we get used to it and we're proud of ourselves”.
If she has since returned to school, the Raincourtoise does not close the doors to the cinema. “I remain open if someone calls me back or makes me offers. When I see how Twenty Gods came into my life, I let it happen”.
The film hits theaters on December 11.
