Marrakech (Morocco) (AFP)

"Am I up to the challenge of this role?": Marion Cotillard asked the question before accepting the role of an opera singer in "Annette", the new film by French filmmaker Leos Carax, expected in 2020.

"I read the script, I found the story beyond singular, deep and palpable: there is this poetic genius and madness that is in the projects of Léos Carax", explained French actress Saturday, during the Marrakech Film Festival (Morocco).

"I did not say yes right now (...), I had questions to ask myself as + am I up to the challenge of this role? + The answer was not positive but I I told myself that I would go anyway, "she said during a meeting with the public. Because the actress "likes to meet the challenges," she notes.

In this lyrical musical, Marion Cotillard plays alongside the American actor Adam Driver (Star Wars, The Report, Marriage story ...).

For the one who shot with Christopher Nolan, Ridley Scott, James Gray or the Dardenne brothers, "the most important thing is to work with people who are completely inhabited by what they do".

"I have long defended myself from having a taste for challenge (...) But when I see what I'm doing, in fact, I say + no + when I do not feel defiant enough," continued the actress Oscar winner for her incarnation of Edith Piaf in "La Môme".

Also, her most difficult role was Lady Macbeth in "Macbeth" by Justin Kurzel: "technically, it seemed insurmountable to play, in old English, an unsuitable Shakespeare," she said, "I always knew I would interpret this role one day but I thought it would be on stage and in French (...) Doing it in English was a huge pressure. "

This film was broadcast Saturday night on a giant screen in the very touristy place Jemaa El Fna, where the actress made a very applauded appearance before the free screening.

- "Interpreter before everything" -

"I like the work of preparation and exploration to enrich the characters, to do singular or surprising things on certain scenes, it makes me vibrate," she said during the sequence "Conversation with" at the Palais congresses, in front of a crowded room.

"When I was little and I dreamed of being an actress, the actors who fascinated me were actors + chameleon + who could pass from one role to another without being recognized," remembered the one who is defined as "an interpreter above all".

"We bring something artistic, but I do not know if I consider myself an artist, I interpret the vision of someone," she said.

His favorite movie? "Inception" by Christopher Nolan, where she plays with Leonardo DiCaprio. She did not "get it all right", but the director "had an answer to everything" and for her, working with Leonardo DiCaprio was a "dream".

Marion Cotillard has already played in a musical film, "Nine" by Rob Marshall (2009), with Daniel Day Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Sophia Loren and Penelope Cruz.

The International Film Festival of Marrakech (FIFM) hosts for its 18th edition a dozen "conversations" with big names such as French filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier or American actor Robert Redford.

© 2019 AFP