Hello Reader,

With Young Mothers, the Dardennes’ new film, premiering in Competition at Cannes next week, I’m finally publishing something I’ve been sitting on for nearly a decade.

In 2016, I interviewed the Belgian Palme d'Or Winners Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) about The Unknown Girl. (The film stars Adèle Haenel, the co-lead of Portrait of a Lady on Fire.)

We spoke in French — no translator, just my rusty comprehension and their willingness to meet me in the middle.

I understood what they said. But transcribing it? That felt like a mountain I couldn’t climb. It's hard enough to wrangle free-flowing thoughts into shape in English. Doing it in another language — with all the nuance, rhythm, and precision their words deserved — felt impossible for a long time.

But I never stopped thinking about the conversation. Especially what they said about sound — how they always use real, live sound on set (rather than fixing it all in post), and how it shapes their actors' performances. Sound is something most directors rarely get asked about, but most are pretty passionate about. The Dardennes lit up.

Now, at last, I’ve translated and published the interview.
🗂️ From the archives: My long-lost interview with the Dardennes​
📖 Read it here — on casting, rehearsal, intuition, sound, and the haunted atmosphere of The Unknown Girl.

BTW, you don't need to have seen The Unknown Girl to understand or appreciate the interview, and there are no spoilers.

Hope you enjoy it — and if it resonates, I’d love to hear what sticks with you.

Warmly,
Alex

P.S. If you’ve ever tried to translate your own thoughts — let alone someone else’s — across time and language, you’ll understand what a strange and satisfying thing it is to finally release this into the world.