A documentary celebrating the 50th anniversary of a film shot in Guernsey has been recording its final scenes this week, in preparation for its premiere.
French director François Truffaut’s 1975 film The Story of Adèle H starred Isabelle Adjani as the daughter of novelist Victor Hugo.
The new documentary, Adèle – Between Two Tides, was created by filmmaker Lars Janssen and features interviews with about 20 locals who were involved in making the film.
Actor and singer Isla André, 19, said she felt “really lucky” to recreate Isabelle Adjani’s Oscar-nominated portrayal of Adèle Hugo in the documentary.
The actor did not know much about Adèle Hugo before landing the role, but had watched clips of the film in order to study Adjani’s body language and facial expressions, she said.
André, who is studying acting at Drama Studio London, said Adèle started out “quite reserved” at the beginning of the story, but went “slightly insane towards the end because she’s got this big crush”.
The documentary, Adèle – Between Two Tides, was created by filmmaker Lars Janssen [BBC]
Filmmaker Lars Janssen filmed André at a variety of locations which featured in the original film to “reinterpret” some of the key scenes, including Castle Cornet and St Martin Parish Church.
He also interviewed “about 20 people” who were involved in the 1975 film over a two month period, he said.
Janssen said he spoke to people including a pet owner whose dog was used in the film, as well as carpenters who worked on the set, firemen who helped create fake snow, and even an actor who was cast but then rejected by the director for being “too tall”.
While most of his film had already been edited, Janssen still expected not to get “much sleep” before the weekend, as he put the final touches to the film.
Laura Harrison, operations manager at the Victor Hugo Centre, said the documentary – which the centre commissioned – would be shown on Saturday 6 September as part of a programme of events to celebrate the anniversary.
She said the event at the Princess Royal Performing Arts Centre would also have talks from experts, followed by a screening of the feature film.
Tickets cost £25, plus a booking fee – but free tickets were available for local students, she added.
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