INTERVIEW - Marie Papillon and Stacy Martin, stars of "La Graine" on Prime Video: "François Damiens made us die of laughter"

Solène Delinger 07h00, 03 May 2023

You're spending a lot of time right now promoting the film. Are you okay, do you support each other well?

Marie Papillon: We can't see each other anymore! (Laughter).
Stacy Martin: We keep making jokes... We don't really know what we're saying anymore (Laughs).

Did you know each other before?

S.M: No, we met at the tests in Paris. Marie was already part of the project. Eloïse (editor's note: the director) was really keen to find the couple who would hold this story. She was looking for a real complicity. She gave us a lot of freedom to see if there was this chemistry with Mary. It was really intuitive.

M.P: I had already been on the film for a year and we were looking for my acting partner. I did a lot of testing with different actresses. But it was immediately obvious with Stacy.

"Lucie and Inès' love doesn't bother anyone"

What did you like about the script ofthis zany comedy about a lesbian couple fighting to have a child?

M.P: A lot! I was immediately seduced by the love story between these two women but also by the committed side of the film that makes visible the fight for ART. And then, we both knew Eloise's work and we knew that we were going to be dealing with a touching, benevolent and funny film.

S.M: She brought the subject with great kindness.

M.P: Yes exactly, and without falling into mockery and parody.

Marie Papillon, you came out very early and talk openly about your homosexuality. So did you get into the skin of your character more easily?

M.P: Just as easily as Stacy (editor's note: Stacy Martin is in a relationship with a man). There was no imbalance in our game in relation to that.

S.M: Yes, because the film is above all about a couple who love each other. That's also what I really liked about the script, the fact that this love is not questioned at all, that their story is normal.

Unfortunately, we still very rarely see lesbian couples in the cinema...

M.P: Yes... And with this film by Eloïse Lange, we are neither in the caricature nor in the drama. There are often depictions of lesbian women who suffer because their homosexuality is not accepted. The Seed is, to my knowledge, one of the first films in France where we see a couple of women and it does not bother anyone! This is very important in terms of representation.

S.M: Yes, and what is problematic in the film is not their homosexuality but the societal constraints they face during their ART journey.

What touched you in this couple formed by Lucie and Inès?

M.P: What I liked is that it's very true. They meet and it's love at first sight. We want to go with them in this love story, we tell ourselves that it's too beautiful. Then we become disillusioned with them because they can't have a child. I think it's very fair and well balanced. They both have their desires and worries but stay together in this fight. And they hold for their couple.

S.M: Yes, we really want them to get there and stay together because we see them moving away from each other. We think it's too stupid but it's also a reality for many couples.

In this sense, the subject of the film is very universal.

M.P: Absolutely. And that's what's great about this movie. The couple of Lucie and Inès is so strong that anyone can put themselves in the place of one or the other.

S.M: Yes, a lot of couples destroy themselves when they can't have a child because it's exhausting and discouraging.

"Women today have the choice to become mothers or not"

How do you view motherhood?

M.P: When I was little, I told myself that I was lazy (laughs). I never saw myself as a mom because I grew up with the idea that it wouldn't be possible because I loved girls. Today, I am not at all at the stage of wanting a child. In any case, I leave myself the possibility of having the choice. And that's already huge.

S.M: At 12, I still had a very romantic idea of motherhood. Growing up, I also understood that it was a struggle.

La Graine tackles a very serious subject (couples of women who encounter difficulties in having a child) in a totally offbeat way. What made you laugh the most on set?

S.M: Marie, was it me who made you laugh?

M.P: No... It's François Damiens (laughs). He did a lot of improvisations and it was really hard to keep his seriousness with him. He made us die of laughter.

S.M: I would say François Damiens too, but there is a scene where I particularly laughed, the one with the receptionist of a yoga center. In fact, there are plenty of little characters that the couple meets during the film. These characters are still quite crazy and very touching and they remind us all of people we have already met in our lives.

Stacy Martin, this comedy marks a turning point in your career because we are used to seeing you in dramas. Did you enjoy this challenge?

S.M: It was a big challenge but I like to change the roles I do. Eloise's tone is very accurate in relation to the subject and in relation to the message she wants to give. It's something that inspired me a lot, even if it's in a register that I've never done before. Comedy is a very powerful and accessible genre. We can reach people more globally by making them laugh.

Can this film change things?

M.P: I hope that it will allow women who are in the process of ART, alone or in a couple, to feel less isolated. And that it will contribute to changing the mentalities of people who are not at all educated, or even rather reactive on the subject.

S.M: The film shows that we can find solutions for all couples if there is desire. I hope it will arouse this desire!