‘Stars At Noon’ Director Claire Denis Says It's 'Harder For Women' To Make Movies

Director Claire Denis is busy promoting her new film “Stars At Noon” at the Cannes Film Festival.

Her new film, which stars Joe Alwyn and Margaret Qualley, is based on the novel by Denis Johnson. The film was shot on location in Panama and takes place during the Nicaraguan Sandanista Revolution around 1984.

Denis recently spoke to Deadline about her new film and the recent criticism that the Cannes Film Festival has received on social media for putting male filmmakers in the spotlight.

“About (the) women (question); I had no choice,” Denis told the outlet. “I was a woman since my birth. So, I think it’s much better now.”

“Still, I can say that it’s really hard for men and women to do a movie; harder for women,” she added, saying, “Women are tough.”

“It’s important to be tough when making film,” Denis continued. “It’s sort of obstination that makes them often.”

When asked about the opportunities that she’s been afforded in her life, Denis replied, “I think there’s a part of luck, but when a producer choose you as the best person, not for the worst reasons.” She added, “And I never met the worst reason, I was lucky.”

“Conversations with Friends” actor Joe Alwyn also sat down with Deadline to talk about his new film and he had nothing but positive things to say about working with director Claire Denis.

“Eric Gautier shot it, and everyone was brilliant, but Claire was at the helm of it,” he explained. “Seeing the way that she worked out how to work, and what she wanted, how she communicated with the heads of the department around her, and how she functioned, was amazing.”

“She’d be in the trunk of the car. We’d be driving around town with her,” he revealed. “She’d be locked in the trunk, screaming out instructions in French to us who were sitting in the car—crowded with like five other people filming us—and she’s just bellowing out what she wants. She’s just a force like nothing else. I’m really lucky to have gone on that mad ride with her.”

Alwyn added that it was “amazing” working with Denis, describing her as “a force.”

“She’s unlike anyone I have ever worked with, and her sets are unlike any other set I’ve ever been on,” he told the outlet. “She is completely singular and of herself and a real orator.”

He went on to say that Claire Denis can “be both fierce in knowing what she wants and then incredibly tender about what she wants. It feels like she discovers everything in the moment.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever work out how she works,” he added. “Maybe she wouldn’t be able to answer either. It was definitely the most unique experience I’ve had with a director on set, but I think she is completely grand.”

He called Claire his “first and foremost” highlight of working on the project. He also praised working with Margaret in Panama and “everyone that we collaborated with.”