The comedian is releasing his first production this Wednesday, a comedy about people with disabilities to change the way society views them.
Laughing with and not against people with disabilities to change the way society views them: this is the ambition of comedian Artus with A little something extrahis first production, in theaters this Wednesday, May 1st.
In this feel good comedy, in line with our happy days of Nakache and Toledano, a father and his son on the run are forced to find refuge in a summer camp for adults with disabilities. They pose as a resident and his specialized educator. A stay that will change them forever.
This film was born from Artus’ fascination with The eighth day, about the meeting between a senior executive (Daniel Auteuil) and a person with Down syndrome (Pascal Duquenne). “It’s a film of great poetry and elegance. I thought it would open a door to cinema but unfortunately not that much.”
“Change your outlook”
With A little something extra, Artus felt invested with a mission. “I want to change people’s outlook. We have to reach out to others. Ignorance is the worst. People with disabilities represent 10% of the population. It should no longer be a taboo. If people realized how simple the relationship with them is…”
“On physical disability, we are evolving well. But mental disability is something else again. We are afraid of not knowing how to speak, who to speak to”, further deplores the director, who encountered many difficulties over the last ten years in setting up his project:
“People clearly told me that they weren’t going to put in the money because ‘no One wants to see disabled people for an hour and a half on the big screen’. I hope this film will work to prove them wrong.”
With A little something extra, Artus approaches a difficult subject with kindness and a good dose of schoolboy humor. In one scene, one of the characters makes wind turbine blades with salt dough which he wishes to offer to another member of the colony. But the latter is Jewish and the wind turbine blades look like a swastika.
Was he afraid of shocking, of going too far with this kind of gag? “We are always afraid when we make a first film, when we tackle a subject like that,” confides the director. “In any case, when you do something today, there are always people who will say bad things about it. No matter the project.”
Inspired by the actors
But Artus wrote the film with kindness, depending on the actors. All the characters in the film are inspired by the personalities of the real actors, all of whom have mental disabilities. One of them speaks like Nicolas Sarkozy, another is a fan of Dalida while a third wears extravagant disguises.
“I didn’t create anything. They’re like that in real life,” insists Artus. “I cast them before finishing the writing in order to write for them. I wanted it to stick as close as possible to who they are. I needed us to be as close to reality. It was also to protect myself (from potential criticism).”
One of the actors, Stanislas, who works at Papotin, an editorial team made up of around fifty journalists with autism spectrum disorders, hits the screen with its perfect imitations of Nicolas Sarkozy. He provokes hilarity in a scene where he recounts the meeting between the former President and Carla Bruni.
“He’s not a character. Papotin, he interviewed Emmanuel Macron. He really is like that. It’s his way of speaking,” explains Artus. “We wrote him long tirades to take advantage of this phrasing.”
Not lazy comedies
Artus also added Sylvain to the film, his favorite character whose success has “surpassed him a little”. “It seemed logical to me to include it even if at first it scared me. I was afraid that by putting this character (who pretends to be disabled), I would damage the film and that it would make it a somewhat heavy comedy.”
Inspired by our happy days, Artus wanted to make “a joyful film”. “I didn’t want to make an anxiety-provoking film with people with disabilities. I wanted people to come away from the film saying that it had made them feel good, that they wanted to be with them. I don’t want people to come away from the film feeling depressed.”
Revealed by We just want to laugh about it And The Legends OfficeArtus hopes to make fewer comedies: “I no longer want to make films because they have to be made. I want to choose better. I want to make comedies that tell something. Comedies not lazy and unfortunately there are a lot of them.”
Artus does not know if he will direct a second film. “I’m basically a cook. Everything I experience there is a bonus. If it stops tomorrow, it doesn’t matter, I’ll do something else.” In memory ofA little something extra, he tattooed the title on his arm. “They all wrote the letters. It’s still a crazy memory so I’m happy to have it on my arm forever.”
