“Without expecting it and after an anecdotal event, I felt a very strong physical sensation and I started to write”

“When my father died, I really wanted to do something about the father figure, and I naturally thought of a film. I quickly abandoned the idea because no one can play my father on screen and I hate flashbacks and voiceovers in cinema. Without expecting it and after an anecdotal event on set, I felt a very strong physical sensation and I started to write. I was the first surprise, because I never had the pretension of becoming an author: literature was too sacred to venture into it. But by writing Kaddour*I enjoyed these meetings with myself and I discovered a new territory where I didn't need anyone.

It was liberating to tell myself that I could write wherever I was and whatever I did. Since finishing this book, I have never stopped writing and I am working on my first novel: a family saga that focuses on three generations of women. The exercise is more difficult because I can't hold on to my memories like with KaddourI have no control since the story is born from my imagination. I think that my job as an actress just like my experience in music (notably with Gaëtan Roussel) nourishes my writing. For example, it is essential for me to reread myself out loud, because I am sensitive to musicality, rhythm and the way words collide.

Writing transformed me and changed my relationship with the public. During my literary encounters, I discovered that my personal story had touched very different people and generations, and it was overwhelming. Finally, writing has changed my relationship with reading, and when I immerse myself in a wonderful book today, I take a minute to analyze what is happening in the narration, in the structure… but that does not prevent me from then let myself be transported by the story and rediscover my pure pleasure as a reader.”

* Kaddour, Éditions Stock, 2024, is the first novel by Rachida Brakni.