Anemone Valcke “It’s okay to fall, because then something else will grow out of it”

Actress Anemone Valcke is a guest in Bar Miroir. You probably know her from roles in De Twaalf, Bevergem, Cool Abdoul or from her debut in Aanrijding in Moscou.

She recommends the film The Florida Project by Sean Baker in our podcast. In short: a six-year-old girl spends the summer in a motel with her young mother Halley. While the girl spends a cheerful time with her friends, the children’s parents have a much less rosy existence. Mother Halley is only in her twenties herself. Raising her child is not going well, partly because she is having financial difficulties.

Anemone Valcke: “I saw that film for the first time when it came out in 2017 or so. I was living with one of my best friends at the time. And I remember, we had one of those blackboards with chalk paint. And I wrote down some dialogue from the film there. That resonated so hard. It was so simple, yet it hit me so hard.”

Another recommendation from Anemone Valcke is Melancholy of the Unrest by Joke J. Hermsen: “I read that for the first time when my ex-lover was over. And I have to say: that really helped me so much. That has given me a completely new perspective and a kind of resignation to the sadness I had”

She also introduces you to Rose in the dark by British soul singer Cleo Sol. And with the duet by Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue Where the wild roses grow. “As a feminist, I actually think that is a very wrong song.”

Finally, Bar Miroir also puts the theater production Het Ego in the spotlight. In the piece, Anemone Valcke and Verona Verbakel explore to what extent transgressive behavior and #metoo are part of their professional and personal lives and – without victim blaming – to what extent they are responsible for this. The audience chooses the scenes and gives points.

“There is also a lot of humor in the performance. Because, well, who wants to go to a performance about transgressive behavior? You think: ‘oh no, misery, misery’. But it’s really not intense.”

“It’s so important to laugh at what’s happening, to challenge the drama or the grandeur of it with humor. And we understand very well the importance of humor, even when you experience something like that, without putting it into perspective. But sometimes you just have to laugh at yourself or a situation. That works and that is accessible.”

And theater helps. “One of the most beautiful responses from an audience member was an older woman who came to me and said, ‘I was five years old and I am now seventy’ with tears in her eyes. That does something. Because we give a voice or a look to people who have experienced that.”

You can also watch this podcast on YouTube on the De Standaard channel.