She wanted to make "an anxiety-provoking wait a wonderful moment"

During confinement, Elsa Zylberstein seduced the Web with her videos "The Mytho confined" before returning to the big screen for "Adorables", in theaters since July 22

Elsa Zylberstein in "Adorables" by Solange Cicurel - UGC distribution / Orange

Every Friday, 20 Minutes invites a personality to comment on a social phenomenon in his meeting “20 Minutes with…”.
Elsa Zylberstein returns to her confinement as active as it is positive.
The actress also talks about her profession with a passion that defies controversy.

The confinement has been successful for Elsa Zylberstein who revealed her delicate humor in The Confined Mytho , light and funny pastilles where she invents an alternate reality in her apartment. These videos made by Michaël Pierrard quickly went viral, giving an image both glamorous and whimsical of the actress of 51 Printemps.

While we currently discover her as a mother victim of teenage illness in Adorables by Solange Cicurel, it is in full preparation for Big Bug , the next film by Jean-Pierre Jeunet that she describes as "a story of anticipation. with Isabelle Nanty and Manu Payet ”that Elsa Zylbertstein agreed to talk to by phone at 20 Minutes . The future Simone Veil of Olivier Dahan's film, scheduled for March 2021, delivers reflections inspired by confinement, her profession and feminism without tongue in cheek or aggressiveness.

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#hommage #romyschneider #yvesmontand #claudesautet #cesaretrosalie ❤️ # passion #baccarat #stonscheznous #restonspositifs #restonscreatifs

A post shared by Elsa Zylberstein (@elsa_zylberstein) on Apr 29, 2020 at 11:43 am PDT

How did you experience this very special period of confinement?

I tried to make a positive difference in a difficult situation where everything was designed to make us nervous! It was after a conversation with Gad Elmaleh that I had the idea for The Confined Mytho. We joked that women couldn't dress up for parties anymore and I thought I was going to pretend. So I dressed up and then I asked my lover to film me. To my surprise, over 40,000 people watched the video. A click then occurred in me because the ideas fell to me from the sky! Vogue contacted me to shoot a lozenge for them. It was not planned at all! Everything was done at home, with the means at hand. Nothing was calculated. We didn't take ourselves seriously. It was necessary to transform an anxiety-provoking expectation into a wonderful moment. At the end of the confinement, 100,000 people followed me.

Why do you think it hit the mark?

We all needed lightness during this time when the 8pm newspaper freaked us out every day. Internet users have understood the playful side of the process where I was able to take a vase, to bring it close to my face to represent a diving suit and make believe that I was going to the Moon, quite simply because I had seen Gravity by Alfonso Cuarón the day before. I forged a new bond with the public thanks to these videos. Before, I only used social networks to share a few photos or promote my films. I think people have seen me differently since then. I was more assimilated to the roles I play. Of course, they correspond to personal choices and are therefore linked by an invisible thread to my personality. But these humorous videos really feature my DNA. They are closer to who I really am as a woman. The real Elsa is in it!

Is she also in the mother of "Adorables"?

I am less aggressive than she because she lives a conflict of madness with her daughter, a bit like in The War of the Roses by Danny DeVito (1990). Even as a teenager, I was not like that. I was a very wise little Elsa, very in love with her mother. I believe that the two characters correspond to a reality that may be a little exaggerated but not that much according to the testimonies of several friends who have told me about their children. Adolescents have always tried to assert their identity in relation to their parents. Even adults, we position ourselves vis-à-vis them, whether by imitating them or by doing the opposite. Relationships between mothers and daughters can be difficult. Social networks have further complicated the lives of young people and their relationships with each other and with their elders.

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The cinemas reopen today !!!!! # cinema #reouverture # vivelecinéma #adorables #sortie on July 29 !! # courezy 🙏🔥💕💕💕 #comedie @maxboubliloff @ lucien.jeanbaptiste. @ugcdistribution @solangecicurel @taniagarbarski 💗

A post shared by Elsa Zylberstein (@elsa_zylberstein) on Jun 22, 2020 at 10:54 am PDT

How can social networks be beneficial?

It all depends on how you use it! They were in my case for La Mytho déconfinée . It is also true that when you are a public figure, you have to be careful about what you publish so as not to be lynched. You have to be super careful all the time because something that seems trivial to you can quickly turn into a drama. We must therefore find a balance between prudence and openness. Being able to remain yourself without exposing yourself too much.

Is that why you don't want to comment on what happened to the Caesars?

I am for justice to do its job. I will not say more on this subject.

Do you see yourself as a feminist?

I am a feminist but not an activist. But, deep down, I don't really know what it is to be a feminist. I am for equal pay but I do not feel comfortable with the notion of imposed quotas. I understand that it can be positive to force people to hire women, but they still have to have talent.

Don't you believe in the notion of a “women's film”?

Absolutely not. There are men like François Ozon, Claude Sautet or Claude Lelouch who film women with great accuracy. I was also directed by very talented directors like Laetitia Masson whose eyes I appreciate. It is not a question of gender but of personal sensitivity. Stories of women can be beautifully told by men who understand them because they give free rein to their share of femininity. You only have to watch Ingmar Bergman 's films to be convinced!

"This is cinema. I want to be taken, to be moved, not to be able to speak when I leave a movie." Ice cream in hand, plunged into darkness, Elsa Zylberstein passionately shares her love of dark rooms. #OnIraTousAuCinema pic.twitter.com/wJ3Be9rWNJ

- AlloCiné (@allocine) May 26, 2020

So you don't approve of Halle Berry when she says that a transgender character should be played by a trans?

I think that is equivalent to denying the profession of actress! Halle Berry therefore thinks that a blind man should have played the one played by Al Pacino in Martin Brest's Le temps d'un week-end or that a real boxer took the place of the one played by Robert De Niro in Raging Martin Scorsese's Bull ? I find this controversy as annoying as it is ridiculous, a storm in a glass of water. For me who likes to transform myself into characters that have nothing to do with me, this reasoning is an aberration. Becoming someone else is what interests me in my profession, the very essence of our work. I wonder how someone like Meryl Streep reacts to these kinds of statements.

Do you think the times we are living in are complicated?

Everything is too passionate. We are moving towards a single thought that worries me. I am an empathetic person who tries to understand all points of view. I try to put myself in everyone's shoes although I know that it is difficult to understand the violence of certain situations if you have not experienced them yourself. I would like us to be often more in reflection than in reaction.

Are there causes that push you to react?

The third age touches me particularly. During confinement, I was upset that some were alone and could not see their loved ones. With my friend Yasmina Benguigui, we contacted Anne Hidalgo to talk to her about that then we beat the recall of our famous friends: Franck Dubosc, Gad Elmaleh, François-Xavier Demaison, Sylvie Testud, Claude Lelouch among others. We connected to the citizen collective Paris in company . Every other day I was talking to two elderly people. I read Paul Eluard to them. They were quoting Charles Baudelaire to me. I believe that everyone's life can be improved individually with initiatives like this. I believe the pandemic has made people more benevolent.

So you think the situation will improve?

I'm optimistic. To get out of the pandemic, you have to be careful without becoming paranoid. Wearing a mask in public places seems wise to me. I feel like a lot of people are doing it. It is also a good period to ask questions and evolve without being swept aside by “political correctness”. The people I meet, whether on the Internet or in real life, seem to me ready to make an effort to get out of this. It is time for people to understand that we are all in the same boat.

Are you also optimistic about the reopening of cinemas?

I am sure that comedies like Simply Black , Adorables or Divorce Club will mark a massive comeback in cinema. There is a real desire on the side of the spectators. I missed the movie theaters terribly. This is also why I agreed to defend them in a clip. French cinema is in great shape which should attract the public. This is a good opportunity to realize that our cinema is freer than American cinema. We can talk about serious and deep things through humor. He is deeply daring. For my part, I am also impatient to appreciate its diversity by being vice-president of the jury for the next Francophone Film Festival in Angoulême.

Cinema

Elsa Zylberstein: "Maturity is successful for me and makes my choices safer"