Sunday Interview. Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne: "What guides us above all is the authenticity of the characters."

This is your ^10th selection in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Do you ever get used to it?

Luc Dardenne : "It's never the same film, so it's a new experience every time: it never becomes commonplace. We await with curiosity and humility the reception of our film. At Cannes, a film meets a first, unique audience, made up of critics, professionals, and film buffs, before opening to the general public."

By synchronizing the theatrical release of your film on May 23 with its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, are you trying to overcome the cinephile elitism that is sometimes associated with it?

Jean-Pierre : "The mythology of the all-powerful author, absolute master of his work, is reductive. At a certain point, we must recognize the expertise of those whose job it is. Since our distributor, Michel Saint-Jean of Diaphana, felt that a French release concurrent with the Cannes presentation would best serve the work, we trust him and...

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