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Maxime Cartier
Published on
Oct 20, 2024 at 6:00 p.m.
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“Images sometimes have more impact than words. Cinema is a wonderful tool for sending messages and telling stories,” says Julia Colin.
The 34-year-old young woman, based in Martin-Église (Seine-Maritime), wanted at all costs to join the middle of the 7e art since his adolescence.
It was a former French teacher who gave her a passion for the big screen, when she had to analyze a film as part of a course.
“The Director’s Third Eye”
Since then, Julia Colin has completed a literary preparation with a cinema option, before joining Femis, the National School of Image and Sound Professions, one of the rare public cinema schools.
Among the thousands of applications, she made her way until she reached her goal: to work in the cinema industry.
For ten years, she has been a scriptwriter. “I take care of the consistency and continuity of the film sets. I avoid false connections, I check if we have enough material during editing, she defines. You have to remember the actors’ emotions during a scene shot several weeks ago… I am the director’s third eye and the second brain. »
Although she does not come from the industry at all and has no relatives in the field, Julia Colin has nothing to be ashamed of about her CV. She has worked on numerous short and feature films, but also series.
The young woman was able to collaborate with many professionals from her school, but also meet talented technicians.
The arrival of streaming platforms was a springboard for the profession according to her. Which notably opened the doors to the biggest project of his career at the moment: the series Zorroproduced by Paramount and just released on screens.
“I was one of the two scriptwriters,” rejoices the professional. It went very well, it was a huge production. »
For several weeks, the young woman discovered the film set in the south of Spain, where spaghetti western films or scenes from one of the filmsIndiana Jones were filmed. “I felt like a kid in an amusement park,” she smiles, still amazed.
Militant action on a scale
But his profession is starting to be threatened, with productions wanting to save money. So, in parallel with her activity, the one who has been a member of the Nous Tous collective since 2021 wanted to link her profession to her activist commitment: she trained to become a sexual harassment referent on film sets.
“Since the #MeToo movement, it is obligatory for productions to have a referent on set,” explains the Martinaise. Before, he was elected by technicians or chosen by production. »
The script was able to complete this training for three days with Afdas, a skills operator in the sectors of culture, creative industries, media, communication, telecommunications, etc.
She had the opportunity to learn more about legal frameworks, the importance of working in a healthy and secure environment.
This training allowed him to fill in the gaps on sexual harassment, assault and rape. She herself has been confronted with more or less dubious experiences in the past in her work:
“When I started, I thought it was normal to have thoughts about my physique, about my outfits, but it wasn’t normal. In our jobs, we have very short fixed-term contracts, we are afraid of being fired or blacklisted. Thanks to #MeToo, we have more confidence today.”
The professional wants to be “able to discuss with trainees and young actors. They’re a bit like designated prey.”
Producers must also have mandatory one-day training. “Things are progressing, but there is still a lot to do,” notes Julia Colin.
As part of the next film in which she will work, the Seinomarine will be able to use her training for the first time.
What is his next project about?
After the Zorro series, Julia Colin will already work on a new project, a feature film this time. We will find the actresses Camille Cottin and Juliette Armanet there. The story? Jeanne, a 40-year-old single woman, without children and with no intention of having any, is entrusted with the care of her sister’s children, who disappears without further explanation…
Julia Colin specifies that the film questions motherhood and what it is to “become a family”. Little anecdote: director Nathan Ambrosioni started writing the script at Martin-Église. With this production, Julia Colin has a little over ten feature films to her credit.
She will warn the entire film crew, remind people of what sexual assault and harassment are and will provide documentation and tools present on the film set.
A few weeks before this new adventure, Julia Colin is obviously looking forward to it, even if she is a little stressed: “It’s a certain responsibility, we’re walking on eggshells a bit between raising awareness and being the pick-up on duty,” smiles. She. She also hopes that her work will be valued in her salary, “knowing that the slightest act of harassment can quickly cost production a lot of money,” recalls the Nous Tous activist.
She will have the opportunity, among others, to rub shoulders with actress Camille Cottin for this new film. And for the first time, she will work with the two hats of scriptwriter and sexual harassment referent: “It’s a way of anchoring my activism in my profession,” she explains.
His objective on film sets is clear regarding sexual harassment and assault: “I want this behavior to no longer exist. »
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