Glasgow FrightFest 2021 held the virtual premiere of Marc Fouchard’s Out of this World. Our review called the film, “a slow and steady character piece that makes the most of its lead’s ability to convey story through the medium of movement.” Its story follows the very private Leo (Kévin Mischel), who has issues communicating with others due to past trauma, and only lives for his music. For now, being unable to secure his ideal career as a composer, he works as an Uber driver and lives in his car. When Leo picks up Amélie (Aurélia Poirier), a deaf dancer, he sees a like-minded spirit, connected to the same remote sound universe, yet cut off from the world just like him. But Leo is hiding a dark and deadly secret…
Directed and written by Marc Fouchard (Break), Out of this World is now out to rent or own on digital HD from Bulldog Film Distribution. The release has been a long time coming and we were thrilled to be given the opportunity to speak with Marc a little more about the project.
This is a very different film to your previous project, Break. How did the idea come to you?
I already had done a commercial movie called Break, a movie maker. I desired for this one to do just the opposite, an independent musical tragedy. We wanted to do it quick with low budget and be free, creatively speaking. My first image that comes to my mind was the idea of this strange couple dancing in a parking lot. I was also working on a script called Tanker, about a serial killer, but we didn’t manage to green-light this movie. So that is how Out of this World was born, a mix of frustration and dreamed images. But above all, I had in mind a lot of visuals and few words. So I created this couple who communicate by way of music.
Almost the entire thirty minutes is just music, with little dialogue. What techniques did you use to ensure that the audience was never lost?
I come from the world of images, I drew all my childhood, I made graffiti and became a graphic motion designer before directing movies. So I am fond of visual movies, my best reference being The Shining. I spent most of my teenage years writing stories. I was the master of the game, played role games like “Bitume” or MK5 (inspired by Mad Max), Star Wars, and others. So I think that all these things helped me to tell stories without dialogue, just with images. I don’t really have any technique or way of doing that. I trust my instinct.
I try to use tools given by the cinema above the dialogue (for this movie particularly)… photography, sound and music, camera moves. But above all I take remarks on my scripts from friends I trust. I also show different stages of the editing to the same people to clear any problems of misunderstanding. For example, in an early edit, some of the audience got confused and thought that the English victim who gets killed at the beginning of the movie
was Hélène (Amélie’s sister). So we decided in post-synchro that the first victim was English (at first she was French) to avoid confusion. So when she implores the killer, we know exactly who she is.
You worked with Kévin before; did you have him in mind when creating the story?
Yes, I saw his potential during our first collaboration in my movie Break. And as my first image was that couple dancing in the parking lot, I needed to have actors good at dancing. He told me at the end of the shoot that he was very happy to be in it, but he didn’t understand why I chose him, he thought he could not perform as Leo, a musician serial killer. But he did it so well.
Dance seems to be an integral part of your story-telling; what is it about the medium that appeals to you?
I am fond of dance. Since I was a kid, I danced all the time with my parents (who were fans of rock n’ roll), then in a group of break-dancers that I created when I was young. I quit dancing ten years ago, but I am still passionate. So it comes to me very naturally to put this ingredient in my movies; dancing is movement, it is graphic, it is music, so very cinematographic.
And once again you can have strong storytelling without words or explanation with just DANCE.
A lot of the story takes place at night; what challenges did this present when shooting?
A huge challenge! But my DOP, Pascal Boudet, managed it. We shot the movie in Le Mans city where he lives and was born. I had ideas of scenes, landscapes, and he knew exactly where we could shoot them. He also knew which places could be lit using public lighting. We had a really low budget for lighting so we had to manage this well.
I loved the autumnal woodscapes and night sequences; were there any films that you took influence from in terms of visual aesthetic?
No, not really. To be honest we were very lucky . I wanted to shoot urgently and decided not to wait for the good days. So we shot during Autumn and prayed for no rain. And it happened, the God of the cinema was with us.
I wanted the movie between ‘two worlds’, between asphalt and nature, that’s one of the reasons we also chose the city of Le mans. When we scouted the forest in Autumn I found the landscape and the colours so beautiful! For this movie, the secret was the landscape scouting, and the fact that Pascal knew everything about Le Mans and its suburb.
Why should audiences seek this film out?
I hope, for its singularity. For the ghost train too. I am going to lock them on the passenger seat of a serial killer and not allow them to escape for 94 minutes. It will be an experience. Good or bad. But a bloody hell experience
Is there anything you can share about your latest project?
I am at the end of the post-production of my latest movie (feature movie for Netflix), finishing my first book, to be released in February 2023, and seeking money for Géronimo, another movie produced by Julien Russo, the producer for Out of this World. So I must leave you, I have work!
Out Of This World is available to rent or own on digital HD from Bulldog Film Distribution now.
