A muse to Terrence Malick (A Hidden Life), and a connoisseur of Luxembourg since her performance in Egon Schiele: Death and the Maiden (Amour Fou, 2016), award-winning Austrian actress Valerie Pachner returns under our borders to sit on the LuxFilmFest international jury.
LuxFilmFest How do you view a film differently when on a jury as opposed to watching for pleasure?
Valerie Pachner : I try to have two inner selves on a jury—one that is still viewing for pleasure, because that tells me whether I get joy from watching a film, to keep that emotional space open. But then, of course, I also watch from a more analytical perspective. And seeing the broader picture, because it is a group of films that we are watching. As an actor, even watching movies in day-to-day life, I do the same — I am a spectator who wants to be entertained, but of course there are moments when you can’t help but imagine how a scene would look on set.
LFF: You have been nominated for, and won awards all over the world — what does that recognition mean for you? Should art be a competition?
V.P : I don’t see festivals chiefly as a competition, I see them as a platform and a joyous meeting of filmmakers. Maybe there is a certain resistance to competition in art, but I have always enjoyed the way festivals honour movie making. Because that is missing in the world of cinema. In the theatre you have that direct meeting with the audience. I think competition is human nature, so there is a certain excitement to it. As long as you see it as fun and recognise that all these films are worthy, it is fine.
LFF: Your characters often go through very intense emotional challenges. Is that something you seek out in a script?
V.P. : Choosing a script is a mix of things, it can be about the film maker and what the story wants to say. But if I also have the chance to challenge myself as an actor, something I can sink my teeth into, then that is perfect. Even with smaller characters, I like finding what I want to tell through them, almost in a little world of their own.
LFF: You have worked with Nele Mueller-Stoefen [for Delicious, which was at this year’s Berlin Film Festival] and Maria Schrader, who is another
actor turned director. Is directing something you have considered?
V.P. : It hasn’t called me yet, to be honest. I think it takes so much… you have to know so many things and there is so much responsibility. I feel, as an actor, I get the best part of movie making, although maybe some editors would disagree. Being on set, especially for smaller independent movies is intense and a bond grows over a short time with that group of people. It is not a normal life.
Interviewed by Duncan Roberts
