From “Call Jane”To “The Janes,” this year’s Sundance lineup is shining a spotlight on reproductive rights, reflecting a national moment in which the right to choose is increasingly under attack.
With “Happening” (“L’evenement”Audrey Diwan, writer and director of the film, adds an international element to the conversation. Based on Annie Ernaux’s novel, the film explores how anti-choice policies manifest on a profoundly personal level.
Anne (Anamaria Varotomei), an intelligent young woman living in 1960s France. Abortion is strictly prohibited. When she discovers that she’s pregnant, she must navigate a series of difficult choices to avoid social alienation and remain in school.
“When I discovered the book, it was soon after having an abortion, and I realized the huge gap between this legalized, medicalized process and the illegal abortions,” Diwan told Sharon Waxman at ’s virtual Sundance studio.
“I thought I knew what it was, and I didn’t. The reality’s way more tough and complicated and the loneliness of the character moved me.”
The story is about a situation where scores of people live under anti-choice government. However, Diwan knew right from the start that she wanted to pursue an individual approach.
“I decided that I would not make a piece only on illegal abortion, but more about this particular character, the way she wants to be free, the way she wants to have sexual pleasure and do some studies,”She explained.
Star Anamaria Vartolomei stated that the many injustices faced by her character fueled her performance. “I felt the reality was so violent that it nourished in me a certain anger,”She said. “I put myself in the place of this young lady that still exists today because it’s still [the reality] in some countries [and] states.”
Diwan Added: “When I started writing the script, everybody would tell me in France, ‘Why do you want to do it now?’”
Diwan was on his way to Venice Film Festival. “Happening”When she discovered that a law in Poland had been introduced proposing that abortions be considered homicides and punish women who seek to end a pregnancy at any stage, the first premiere was made.
Diwan approached the film with the goal of making it a documentary about the topic of reproductive rights. “intimate thriller,”It is not a historical drama.
“There is always somewhere in the world where the law is changing, and not for the better,”She said. “That was one of the reasons I didn’t want to make a period piece, but a movie where you can actually feel second after second what is going on and live it as if you were in the ’60s, now, considering the fact of the world we’re in, it’s always the same matter in a way.”
’s Sundance Studio is presented by NFP and National Geographic Documentary Films.
