"Miss": a human comedy about plural femininity

In Miss, in theaters Wednesday, Alex, a graceful 9-year-old boy who happily navigates between genres, has a dream: to one day be elected Miss France.

15 years later, Alex (played by Alexandre Wetter) has lost his parents and his self-confidence and stagnates in a monotonous life.

An unexpected meeting will wake up this forgotten dream.

Alex then decides to compete in Miss France by hiding his identity as a boy.

Through the stages of a merciless competition, helped by a colorful family of heart, Alex will set off to conquer the title, his femininity and above all, himself ...

>>> Meeting the model Alexandre Wetter

After "The Golden Cage", his first film released in 2012, Ruben Alves wanted to talk about the courage it takes to change identity.

"I wanted the general public to have access to this subject and its issues, but I couldn't find the right bias or the way to bring something different from the great existing documentaries," he explains.

The director initially turned to a TV movie about transidentity, but the project was unsuccessful.

It is the meeting of Alexandre Wetter, then a model, who will develop his idea.

"I was struck by the way he passed with simplicity and naturalness from a fairly masculine physique to an assumed femininity. I asked him about him, about the way he had to portray himself as a woman on his Instagram account, I asked him if he was considering a transition. He wasn't. He just feels 'stronger as a woman.' The next day he was looking at 'The Golden Cage' and suggested that I do a feature film rather than a TV movie on the subject, "says Ruben Alves.

>>> A look at plural femininity

While writing the screenplay, Ruben Alves questions the quintessence of femininity, and thinks of the Miss France contest: telling the story of a boy who dreams of becoming a miss.

"To be clear, I'm not making a film on Miss France. I just had fun breaking the codes, to breathe modernity into this universe that, at first glance, I watched with second degree", explains the director.

"I got attached to girls. Some are there only to become famous, but most are genuine, sincere. Obviously the candidates are not representative of the whole of society but they offer a fairly wide range of what women can be. today. I also found it interesting that we approach a plural femininity through the eyes of a man who puts women on a pedestal and who does not hesitate to confront certain men with their stupidity. screenwriter Elodie Namer, we wanted to pay tribute to the woman and to the courage she needs to grow and assert herself in our patriarchal society ".

>>> A cast of choice

To interpret the roles of Yolande and Amanda, Alex's adoptive mothers, Ruben Alves turned to Isabelle Nanty, whom he had already directed in his short film Sheltered from prying eyes, and Pascale Arbillot.

"I immediately thought of Isabelle Nanty to interpret Yolande because, in the theater, she has this gang spirit, this troop leader side. For the character of Amanda whose authority is a bulwark against loneliness, I had need for modernity, elegance. Pascale Arbillot has imposed herself naturally. She can play anything, rings true every time, without trying to impress the gallery, without fuss ".

Finding the actor to play the character of Lola, transvestite and friend of Alex, was more difficult for the director.

He found the perfect actor in Thibault de Montalembert whom he saw in the series "Ten percent".

"In a scene where the character of Thibault de Montalembert has just slept with his assistant, Thibault is naked, lying on the bed, he smokes a cigarette. I discovered there, for a moment, a form of femininity that I liked a lot. I had my Lola. And I was lucky that he accepted immediately, "Ruben Alves tells us.

"As soon as I had finished reading the script, I jumped on my phone," explains Thibault de Montalembert.

“I absolutely wanted this role. I like playing characters who, although very far from who I am, allow me to learn more about myself and use colors that are not the ones that immediately jump out. . Miss is neither a farce nor a gaudriole. It is a human comedy and it was especially not a question of making fun. Ruben is only benevolence and immediately asked me to embrace my femininity. Lola's baroque side then arrived thanks to the work on costumes, hairstyles, make-up ".

"Miss", which received a triumphant welcome at the Alpe d'Huez Comedy Film Festival and the Angoulême Francophone Film Festival, is in theaters this Wednesday, in partnership with Europe 1.