"Michou had a strong sense of staging," recalls Rina Sherman

• Rina Sherman met Michou, who died this Sunday in Paris at the age of 88, in 2013.
• She filmed the figure of the Parisian night for three years for her film Michou, c'est moi!
• At 20 Minutes, she recounts her memories of the emblematic figure of Parisian nights.

In love with Paris and Montmartre where she lives, the ethnographer, filmmaker, author and photographer Rina Sherman met Michou in 2013. For three years, she filmed Michel Catty, who died this Sunday in Paris at the age of 88. She tells her blue prince of Montmartre at 20 Minute s.

What relationship did you have with Michou?

I did a three-year visual anthropology with him. I captured great moments of generosity and also his keen sense of staging. If I followed him in the middle of the crowd, he knew with a simple gesture of the hand to indicate to me the sequence and the different shots to film. He had a sense of staging, timing, and the art of walking in 3D in space. He knew exactly how to position himself to show off. Such a sense of staging, I only saw that with Jean Rouch.

What do you remember from Michou?

Michou was an artist. He made a great contribution to contemporary creation in France and around the world, because he knew how to establish the practice of transformism. He has inspired many theater companies and troupes in the United States, Brazil, etc. He is a reference in this artistic practice. Michou was also a master of burlesque.

Michou was also this man in blue…

He pushed artistic creation to invent a character in a satin blue costume. This image is iconic. It is known to everyone, from Paris to Tokyo via Los Angeles. He wanted to maintain this image until the end. I remember that when he sat in a cafe or a restaurant, he settled down so as to have maximum visibility. He wanted to offer the image that the public of his cabaret was looking for all the time.

What do you remember from the man?

He was very generous and played the emotional card very strongly. This is why there has been this tear and sadness on social networks since the announcement of his death.

Do you remember an anecdote that sums up who he was?

I accompanied him to a Michou day in Montmartre. Everyone dressed in blue for the occasion. I wanted to do my little game, even if my profession requires me to be neutral. I put a little blue plastic doll on my camera. He asked me to remove it and said, "The blue doll is me."

Culture

Michou, the legend of the night with blue glasses, is dead

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• Michou