One element that connects all of Mia Hansen-Løve’s films is, without question, light.
When Mia Hansen-Løve was 16 years old, her boyfriend left her to go travel the world. As she explains in her third film, Goodbye First Love (2011), she was devastated. In order to deal with her grief, she decided to cut her hair. At that time, Mia Hansen-Løve was involved with a theatre group that organised a casting session for a film. Hansen-Løve says that she believes cutting her hair so short was key to her being chosen. That was the first time she ever set foot on a film set. That was the first time Hansen-Løve came into contact with film, and she says that in a way film saved her, even if that sounds like an exaggeration.
At just 26, she wrote and directed her first film, All Is Forgiven (2007). It premièred at the Cannes Directors' Fortnight, where it immediately received international acclaim. In this first full-length feature, some of the characteristics that would become hallmarks of the film director’s work are already present, including the fact that her own life, the people around her, and her experiences are points of departure for all of them. For example, her first feature film was inspired by an uncle of hers that reconnected with his daughter after years without seeing her, and died soon thereafter. In the case of her second film, Father of My Children (2009), we could say that there are two points of departure. On one hand, the life of Humbert Balsan, a producer who played a fundamental role in the director making her first feature, and later committed suicide. On the other is Hansen-Løve's own life, with her Danish-born paternal grandfather (hence the filmmaker’s surname) also committing suicide.
Another characteristic of Mia Hansen-Løve's filmography is that she shoots all of her work (except Eden - 2014 -) in analogue. She says that it is always a struggle with the producers, because shooting on film always makes the process more difficult and expensive. Yet, for her, it is a fundamental component of making film. Even with her last work, One Fine Morning (2022), where locations like homes for the elderly that are not particularly beautiful were filmed, she wants to capture them in the most beautiful way possible for that very reason, and that is undoubtedly something analogue film brings to the table.
We also have to mention the music. In this case, the filmmaker never having created an original soundtrack for her films is a calling card of her practice. The director prefers selecting independently composed songs. She says that, by doing it this way, it gives her the feeling that the songs themselves are bringing their whole story to the film, and that using a soundtrack crafted like this helps give her creations another layer.
Lastly, one element that connects all of Mia Hansen-Løve’s films is, without question, light. We could say that Hansen-Løve makes bright film. Her feature films do not address easy topics, which include falling out of love, deception, illness, death, and suicide. In the end, these are different situations that have to do with her own life. With all of its problems and rawness. Yet through her film, Mia Hansen-Løve finds a way to bring us towards the light, as if an almost magical gesture of unknown origin: Through the writing? Through the staging? Through the acting direction? Through the editing? On 23 August, Mia Hansen-Løve will grace Tabakalera with a visit, when we will have the opportunity to ask her how she does it; how she is able to bring us towards the light.
PROGRAMMING
1 July, Saturday, 19:00
Un pur esprit, Mia Hansen-Løve, France, 2004, 3’
All Is Forgiven, Mia Hansen-Løve, France, 2007, 105’
8 July, Saturday, 19:00
Father of My Children, Mia Hansen-Løve, France, 2009, 110’
15 July, Saturday, 19:00
Goodbye First Love, Mia Hansen-Løve, France, 2011, 110’
22 July, Saturday, 19:00
Eden, Mia Hansen-Løve, 2014, France, 131’
29 July, Saturday, 19:00
Things to Come, Mia Hansen-Løve, France, 2016, 102’
5 August, Saturday, 19:00
Maya, Mia Hansen-Løve, France, 2018, 107’
19 August, Saturday, 19:00
Bergman Island, Mia Hansen-Løve, France, 2021, 112’
23 August, Wednesday, 19:00
TALKING FILM: Mia Hansen-Løve
26 August, Saturday, 19:00
One Fine Morning, Mia Hansen-Løve, France, 2022, 112’
