Alexandre David Lejuez’s Interview on The Strange Dreams of Hypnos and Venus

I am the author of several independent short and feature films made with my production Noctura Films, since 2018. My universe with dark and saturated colors deals with different themes such as loneliness, chaos, horror, psychology, eroticism but also dreams and nightmares. All cradled in an abstract, sensory and experimental form.

The main idea being to reinvent the cinematographic form and not to follow any rules. My stories, mostly taking place behind closed doors, feature one or two protagonists. I attach great importance to the unreal aspect of my story as well as to the temporality and dilation of time. My style, somewhat minimalist, is forged in a dreamlike, even psychedelic photography and staging, constructed in a visual and pictorial way. Unusual and religious objects appear regularly in disturbing half-timbered decorations.

The sound design in which the classic and the gloomy intertwine creates a certain unease. The characters, with a tortured mind, take a dark and pessimistic look at the society around them. They are in perpetual existential quest…

Disordered reality takes precedence over their conscience.

Watch the trailer for The Strange Dreams of Hypnos and Venus

---

indieactivity: How do you choose a project to direct?
Alexandre David Lejuez (ADL): To create a project, I have to fall in love with it, or feel it, visualize it precisely. I wrote a lot of screenplays that didn’t materialize precisely because I didn’t have that click. I think it’s a matter of instinct.

Why filmmaking and screenwriting? Why did you get into it?
Alexandre David Lejuez (ADL): I like to create surreal worlds that stand out from everyday reality. This one is deeply boring. You have to create something unique, take the viewer to another dimension to shake him up, upset him… That’s cinema. I most often build my scripts on ideas of atmospheres and particular staging but also on unconventional narrative frameworks. For me, a film is a timeless microcosm in which we lose all notion of rationality.

‘How can a filmmaker, if she so chooses, distribute her film? How do you get it in front of an audience?
Alexandre David Lejuez (ADL): First of all, there are festivals that allow films to be shown, whether online or physically, in a theatre. The more a film is exploited and viewed, the better. Plus, being in competition with other filmmakers is always interesting. We gain experience. VOD platforms also allow distribution to an audience. There are many.

Finally, there is the possibility of having your films released in a theatre if you work with a distributor. This is the most complex part because the films must obey very specific rules. In general, self-produced films find a distributor less easily than those produced by major production companies. It is about business above all. Afterwards, it is quite possible to solicit theatres yourself for unique screenings. It is an independent approach once again.

---

Is there anything about the making of independent film business you still struggle with?
Alexandre David Lejuez (ADL): Yes, this is precisely about distribution. I deal with sensitive subjects and that closes the door to theatrical releases. It’s distressing to see that theatres are limited to very specific film genres and they refuse any new form of cinema. I think this does the viewer a disservice. Arthouse cinemas do not respect truly independent filmmakers. These cinemas never show purely artistic or experimental films.

They broadcast low-budget films produced and distributed by recognized companies. The term arthouse should not be used for these cinemas because it gives a false image. We live in an era where political correctness is everywhere. You must not speak ill of such a thing, you must think like everyone else, and if you don’t, you are put aside. It’s not normal, the modern world is not doing well, including cinema.

Talk to us about your concept of collaboration?
Alexandre David Lejuez (ADL): I need to collaborate with inspiring people. There has to be a feeling between us for that to happen. I don’t like conventions. I’m not the type to do castings or choose a person for his CV, it’s quite the opposite.

What uniqueness do female directors/filmmakers bring to film/tv/cinema?
Alexandre David Lejuez (ADL): I’ve never asked myself this question and to be honest I don’t know. But it’s all about personal inspiration, experimentation, breaking narrative codes to bring something innovative to cinema. So woman or man is not the major concern, but it is the production system that is destroying modern cinema. This is largely subject to political standards. Freedom of expression fades a little more each year to highlight social issues that have no real interest other than passing fads. And then, the financial aspect has clearly taken over the quality, it is undeniable in 2023.

---

How do you find the process of filmmaking as an indie filmmaker?
Alexandre David Lejuez (ADL): All it takes is an idea, a vision for everything to fall into place. Writing, filming and editing are only the continuity and final realization of this idea.

At what period in the filmmaking process, do you need to start planning for distribution?
Alexandre David Lejuez (ADL): When I finalize a film in post-production, I start targeting different festivals that might be interesting. Then I approached cinemas and finally VOD platforms. I take the time necessary to make the right choices.

Indie filmmaking is a model of small budget. How do you get a film to the audience with such a budget?
Alexandre David Lejuez (ADL): These days, it is quite possible to do something credible with nothing and then distribute your film via one of the many streaming platforms. What attracts people are the news topics in which they identify.

Describe your most recent work, or film, take us through pre, production and post production?
Alexandre David Lejuez (ADL): The Strange Dreams of Hypnos and Venus is my fourth feature film. I elaborated it like a visual and musical symphony intended to lead the viewer to a hypnotic reverie. This is a contemplative and cerebral experience in which we identify with two totally opposite protagonists, before plunging into their fantastic imagination. The soundtrack, composed mainly of classical music and the absence of dialogue reinforce this contemplation of the image. The process is similar to that of silent cinema. Dante Fournarel plays Hypnos, and Eva Langlet plays Venus.

---

What is your experience working on the story, the screenplay, the production, premiere and the marketing?
Alexandre David Lejuez (ADL): I think it’s my most visually accomplished film. I went very far in designing the images, the staging, the lights, the colors and the symmetry. The work is similar to that of a photographer or a painter. Writing the screenplay was quite spontaneous. When I wrote it, I was finalizing my film Genocidium, and I wanted to start a totally different project at that time. I really like filming unusual old objects, the idea started from there. In addition, I was also influenced by the cinema of Stanley Kubrick. I spent a lot of time preparing the staging and decorating. I did all the horror paintings in the film and composed one of the songs.

Subsequently, the film was sent to several international festivals and finished in the top 3 for best experimental film in Italy, at Rome Prisma Independent Film Awards. It also won a prize in New York. The film is expected to release this year on the French platform, Sofa VOD, as well as on Amazon Prime Video.

How did you put the crew and cast together? Did you start writing with a known cast? What was your rehearsal process and period?
Alexandre David Lejuez (ADL): This independent project was mostly shot between October and December 2021 in Normandy. I thus collaborated with the actress Eva Langlet for the seventh time and the actor Dante Fournarel for the second time. I imagined them both in their roles at the time of writing. Then they read the script and agreed to play very quickly. There was no real rehearsal. Everyone knew what they had to do at the time of filming. They offered me choices of costumes and accessories. For example, the rings on the fingers of the character of Hypnos was an idea of Dante that I totally approved! I remember we shot the sequences with the actors at the end of November, beginning of December 2021 for a few days.

---

What and how long did it take to complete the script?
Alexandre David Lejuez (ADL): In October 2021, I wrote the screenplay myself a few days after having started taking shots on different objects, ancient sculptures intended for a potential music video or improvised short film. Then I started writing this film with a lot of intuition and inspiration, precisely describing the sets, the lighting and the staging.

Did the tight shooting schedule make it harder or easier? How did it affect performances?
ADL: In fact, there were two major parts of filming on this film. The first was devoted to sequences of objects and landscapes, without actors. I worked alone outside in different places with my camera like a photographer or reporter. When I liked a place, I set up my equipment and started shooting for several hours. Every detail counted. I sometimes wait a long time to get good lights. You had to be patient. It was similar for objects. I worked in an antique gallery. I tested different types of lighting until I liked the final result. The objects really had to come to life. Then the second part of the shoot was much more conventional. I worked on the staging in the studio and we shot with the actors when everything was ready.

How much did you go over budget? If you did, how did you manage it?
ADL: I do self-produced films and budget has never been an issue. All it takes is good organization.

When did you form your production company – and what was the original motivation for its formation?
ADL: I created my Noctura Films production, 5 years ago in January 2018. I invested in material and equipment useful for the creation of my projects, and developed my own editing and filming studio. My main motivation was to be able to be independent above all! Artistic freedom is priceless.

The Psychological Trilogy: Seul le sang me guide (2018), Vincire  (2018), I’m Not a Psychopath (2019).

---

What other films have you written and made?
ADL: 
1. The Psychological Trilogy:
a. Seul le sang me guide (2018),
b. Vincire  (2018), and
c. I’m Not a Psychopath (2019).
2. Erotic, Chapter 1 : Desire & Sensuality (2020)
3. Drunkenness (2021) Amazon Prime Video
4. Emma (2021) Sofy TV
5. Existere (2021) Sofy TV
6. Genocidium (2022) Amazon Prime Video, Sofa VOD
7. The Strange Dreams of Hypnos and Venus (2023)

What do you hope audiences will get from the presentation of your film?
ADL: I hope that the spectator will have in him this feeling of having travelled through my images!

What are your future goals?
ADL: To continue to create films in an independent and personal way, without submitting to codes.

Tell us about what you think indie filmmaker need in today’s world of filmmaking?
ADL: I believe that an independent director no longer needs anything because everything is available in the digital world. So, on the contrary, we must refuse the abundance of technologies to leave room for imagination and creativity, which is cerebral and not technological.

Watch the Official Trailer for Erotic, Chapter 1 : Desire & Sensuality (2020)

---

Making a film with an old camera is a good way to test your degree of instinctive imagination. Cinema is craftsmanship! But I’m afraid that in the years to come, the cinema will disappear to give way to virtual reality in which the spectator will be able to observe the actors in a film from the angle he wishes, like a video game. 360 degree vision is the future, and that’s sad news for all conservative filmmakers!

What else have you got in the works?
ADL: I’m working on post-production of a new experimental short film on the theme of dreams. It was filmed in Paris and Normandy. I also made the soundtrack. At the same time, I am preparing the release of my first electro album. It will contain my tracks present in my films, the single I am just going insane featuring Florencia Caceres, and other compositions. The idea is to create an atmospheric and dreamlike musical album.

I also devote myself to painting on horrific and bloody canvases. I really feel involved in creating something with my hands, in giving birth to a world of my own. It’s very soothing. It’s a path that has always appealed to me. Finally, next summer, I should start shooting my fifth feature film, mainly in the Paris region. It will be a psychological mystery thriller.

---

Tell us what you think of the interview with Alexandre David Lejuez. What do you think of it? What ideas did you get? Do you have any suggestions? Or did it help you? Let’s have your comments below and/or on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

Socials
Website
IMDb
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Vimeo