Canadian Director Says Cannes A Welcome Break From Polytechnique Film

Denis Villeneuve says his upcoming trip to the glamorous Cannes Film Festival to show off his sumptuous short, “Next Floor,” will be a much-needed holiday.

The director is looking forward to some time away from the editing room, where he’s been labouring over “Polytechnique,” his highly anticipated film about the 1989 shooting rampage that took the lives of 14 women in Montreal.

“It was a big relief for me to do this movie,” Villeneuve said of “Next Floor” during a recent interview.

“(‘Polytechnique’) was a tough movie to make and for me going to Cannes is like a break.”

“Next Floor” tells the story of 11 pampered diners as they tear into mounds of elaborately prepared food. At first, their consumption is quite civilized, but the intensity increases with each forkful until the floor is groaning menacingly beneath them.

Based on an original idea by Phoebe Greenberg and written by Jacques Davidts, the film is amusing and surreal. Despite the continuous feeling of foreboding, the shadowy lighting and the ominous soundtrack, it reveals a sly sense of humour.

“For years I was looking for a project that would allow me to play with black humour,” said Villeneuve. “I would love to work more in this kind of humoristic space. I love it.”

The short film is featured as part of the International Critics’ Week, a parallel event of the Cannes festival that focuses on up-and-coming moviemakers.

Villeneuve has already received considerable acclaim for his previous work. In 1998, his first feature film — “Un 32 aout sur terre” — was in official competition at film festivals in Cannes, Toronto and Telluride.

His second, 2000’s “Maelstrom,” won 25 international prizes.

Villeneuve has high praise for the actors who appeared in “Next Floor,” which runs just over 11 minutes.

“It was difficult for the actors to be in such conditions — eating, eating, eating in such warm temperatures with that kind of weird and exotic-looking food,” he said of the shoot, which took place over four days in a building slated for demolition.

“I was sure that after two hours someone would rise up and say, `That’s enough, I cannot take it any more. That’s not part of my contract, I’m calling my union’,” he recalled with a laugh.

“They were very generous. I was amazed to see how they were able to go through that with such good humour.”

The actors in “Polytechnique” — which does not yet have a release date — were faced with a different kind of stress.

Villeneuve said the film’s subject matter still gives him nightmares and notes the crew and actors found it tough coping with the violence. The genial director calls the movie “maybe the most rewarding work I’ve done.”

The families of the 14 slain women did not participate in the project but gave it their approval.

“The worst thing in life is to lose a child,” Villeneuve said. “I did want to respect that.”

He didn’t film at the Ecole polytechnique campus, although the production had permission to do so. Villeneuve said some characters are fictional.

“It is accurate with the events but I didn’t want it to be too close to reality out of respect for the victims and the families. I want it to be a kind of poetic remembrance, not a docudrama.”

Gunman Marc Lepine is played by Maxim Gaudette, who appeared in the hit “Les 3 p’tit cochons” (“The Three Little Pigs”).

“He’s not the centre of the movie. The goal is not to explore his character,” Villeneuve said. “It’s more about the victims and the effects of the violence on them.”

“Polytechnique” was originally to be filmed in French only, but was ultimately shot simultaneously in English and French after a Toronto partner signed on with Quebec producers.

The project was initially turned down by the Quebec film funding agency SODEC and Telefilm Canada, which Villeneuve said made valid points about aspects of the script that needed polishing. Quebec and federal funding eventually came through.

For now, he is looking forward to Cannes.

“‘Polytechnique’ is like ‘Apocalypse Now,”‘ Villeneuve said, referring to the 1979 Vietnam war epic that is said to have given director Francis Ford Coppola a nervous breakdown.

“I’m going on vacation.”

General view of the atmosphere prior to the start of the 61st Cannes Film Festival on May 13, 2008 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)