Q & A With French Producer Joachim Gautier
Joachim Gautier graduated from Normandy Business School in France with a Master’s degree in Cross-Cultural Marketing & Negotiation. His Master thesis was about public film financing in France, a “cultural exception” in the world. He had an exchange year in Amsterdam while earning his Bachelor’s degree. He had his first professional experience in the U.S. at the Cultural Services of the French Embassy, New York, in the film department. Before that, he worked in several audiovisual companies in Paris and Amsterdam, Pathé, TF1 and the National Center Cinema. He worked at Imovision, a film distributor in São Paulo, before attending AFI for producing, where he received his masters in 2017. Since then, he’s been producing shorts, commercials, and other projects.
What do you look for in a script?
When I read a script, I am first looking to see if I can connect to the characters. No matter how likable or dislikable, similar or different they are from me, I need to feel that I can understand them, where they are coming from, and their actions. It is very hard to write a story with a relatable character and a believable journey. But if you have good characters, you have a good script, and potentially a good film.
How do you select a director?
After the script, the director is the most important element I take into consideration when I decide to work on a project. You are going to be with that person for several months, if not years, from developing the story, to shooting it, and finally releasing it. You want to be with someone you know you will get along with, not just during the rewarding times, but also the tougher ones. Someone that you can trust and rely on. It involves a good chemistry, but also seeing you are on the same page about the story you want to tell. Good communication also being important in any relationship, to avoid most conflicts, you need to see if you are able to, not only to express yourself well, but also to understand your creative partner’s vision, as well as his or her personality. Thankfully, I have been lucky so far, and never had any major conflicts with the directors I worked with. Many of them are still friends to these days, sharing our love for films.
Have you ever had to handle a difficult conflict in your career?
A few years ago, I was on a project with a director and we reached out to someone to join our crew. We sent him the script. He was not available. We wished him best of luck, after working with him several times already in the past. A few months later, after already shooting our film, we learned he had written an extremely similar script to ours, and never told us about it. It was especially surprising since we shared the same circle of friends. We reached out to him again, and he told us his story was indeed very similar, but that his inspiration was very much different from ours. We chose to believe him. We just asked if he could at least not release his film within the same year than ours, to avoid any conflict and “rivalries“ between the two films, with the exact same topic and many story elements in common. He did not reply. We therefore made the decision to mention the possibility of hiring a lawyer if he would not collaborate. He did not take it well, took it personally, but eventually said he would not release his film at the same time as ours. We did not speak for several years afterwards, as trust had been broken. This anecdote shows that even people you worked with in the past can be misleading. But also not to hold grudges on others. Especially since there were no major consequences in the end, asides from a broken relationship. I finally met him and talked to him shortly earlier this year, as several years had passed already, and there was no reason to remain in conflict. This was the very first time I ever mentioned taking legal action against someone. And I hope not to have to do it again, as it always feels like a very passive aggressive move to make.
What would you change in a movie you produced that you believe would make it better?
The film I am still the most proud of to this day is “White River Tales“, a short film about the struggle of a young father living in a small town, about his identity and the care of his family. It was based on the own father’s life of the writer/director. It is the most cinematographic film I have worked on, and the one with the most challenges, as we had to deal with a lot of elements, including in the story. I particularly got attached to a plot that really hit me when the director first told me about it. And it lead to one of the most emotional scenes in the film at the end. But as I re-watched it recently, I realized it was too disconnected from the main story line, which should have been simpler, in order to fit its short length. I still have no regrets sticking with it. I just wish now we would have made more pragmatic decisions from the beginning. This is one of the many lessons we keep learning as filmmakers.
Please tell us what inspired you to enter into the world of films?
My parents introduced me to cinema at an early age, taking me to the theatre on the weekends, and buying the classics in DVDs when it came out. Watching the behind-the-scenes, I realized a career in filmmaking was possible. I always loved being told stories, and movies are the embodiment of all arts in telling it in an entertaining way. I interned a various film companies when I was in business school at the end of each year, and I decided to get another degree, this time in film producing, to pursue my goal to work in film. I have been working in LA in production since I graduated four years ago!
Filmmaking is a laborious job, so what keeps you motivated?
I was just talking about this with another filmmaker friend the other day. The film industry is a very small world, with many wanting to be part of but only a few spots available, as well as long hours, and not a very sustainable source of income for most. What keeps us going is to keep watching films, meeting new filmmakers, and the ones we already know, and remind ourselves why we love movies, and how we can plan for making more. In other words, to keep dreaming and be hopeful to be at the right time and the right place the next time!
How much patience is required in this field?
To work in film requires a lot of patience most of the time. Mainly because to make a movie relies primarily on other people. You are waiting for a writer, director or producer to meet and work with you; for financiers to support your project; you hear “no“ a lot. You must be patient for a script to be ready, then the next draft. Which will sometimes not meet your expectations. You are looking for crew members to be available, and be willing to work within the budget you have. You are going back and fourth with talent representations, about which actor is available and for how much. You are looking at countless different filming locations that must work with the story, the team’s ambitions, and the budget. You are waiting on set for every department to be ready before every shot, every hour of every day, for weeks, if not months. When filming is over, you are waiting for the first cut of the film, that will almost always be a disappointment from what you were first imagining. Then another cut to be made. Same goes with color, sound, music, and marketing materials. You are waiting for film festivals and distributors to come back at you to hear if you film was selected and will be shown. To make a film takes months, if not years. And you have a million problems to deal with from its inception to its release. But you are willing to do all of this because you love it, and you don’t see yourself doing anything else!
How do you choose your star cast?
Acting is an extremely difficult job. It’s based on looks, talent, and something more than cannot be explained. It’s in the eyes, the ton, the attitude, and all the nuances that someone can bring to a role. Sometimes it’s not just about the actor itself, but also how he or she will get along with its partners on screen. A lot of of the time, to have an actor who has already been in a successful film can be an advantage to find financing. But if I had to pick the three most important elements in choosing an actor, it would be the eyes, how much they express, versus what the actor says in his lines, his ton, how a sentence can sound different between the beginning and the end, and his presence, how comfortable he or she feels in an environment and interacting with the other actors. Acting in the end, like the rest of filming, is about teamwork, and how much the person is willing to collaborate with the director and the rest of cast and crew.
