Vermin: “Théo was the flesh of Vermin” according to Sébastien Vaniček (interview)
“It’s very animalistic and it’s a very animalistic film,” he adds.
In theaters since December 27, Vermin is the very first feature film of Sébastien Vaničekafter more than a decade working its shocking aesthetic by directing several short films and a mini-series. By meeting him, we were dealing with a young, ambitious filmmaker who advocates the importance of the pleasure taken in the production of entertainment. The film tells the story of an invasion of deadly spiders in a Parisian suburb. It’s not impossible that there will be one or two that invite themselves under your seat at the cinema!
First: Before Verminyou started by directing several short films and a mini-series, did you meet people who knew you from your first films?
Sébastien Vaniček : It’s more people from our generation who saw what I was doing before, especially from the moment I worked with Jerome (Niel). He shared them on his networks and it was seen a little more. Then there are fifty other short films that no one will ever see and which will remain in my drawers. It’s funny when these people discover Verminthey tell me “we see the label of your courts which is already there”. It’s so flattering, because it’s my career goal, to be able to recognize my films by the label.
Indeed you have a strong and assertive aesthetic from the first shorts, is this your cinema training?
SV : Yeah, definitely! And then that’s how I also built my team. I did the short ones with the same people I worked with over the long term. We grew up together, we matured together, we each evolved in our profession. Before, I wasn’t a professional director, I worked on the side on things that had nothing to do with it. I was a little frustrated working at Super U or Disneyland. But I had the mania, we had these regular meetings to make films together and they believed strongly in me. When I was really able to achieve this “Grail” what is the feature film and I told them: “guys we’re there”, they only hit when they were turning. They’re all going to be there at the premiere tonight and that’s a real accomplishment. It’s still extraordinary and there’s a really beautiful story in there. I’m so happy.
Are they the same people, exactly the same team as when you started?
SV : Yeah, we arrived with around twenty people and we added positions that weren’t there on the courts. For example, we didn’t have a script before. By adding themselves to the starting team, they immediately embraced the energy of the group. They quickly understood our way of shooting. It created a great atmosphere on set, we were able to do a lot more than what was planned, we went further and everyone was fully involved. So it was really a huge pleasure to work with them, but they’ve been the same since the beginning, indeed.
Do you place a lot of emphasis on band dynamics?
SV : There are plenty of people who work well, there are plenty of people who are good. But there aren’t many good human beings and I only want to surround myself with people like that. I love this job too much to surround myself with people who will bother me and I don’t need that. It’s a huge game, we do the best job in the world, we’re here to make people happy, so that they leave a room saying “I enjoyed it, I had a great time.” So what’s the best way to do it other than by having fun ourselves? I will try all my life to pursue this goal, I will make mistakes left and right but I will try to maintain this modus operandi.
This gang atmosphere can be felt a lot in the acting…
SV : When they arrived and I cast them, I wanted the best people to match the energy of my group, while choosing good actors of course. It’s my gang with whom I make these films and it’s out of the question to have an actor who is the star and that it saps the energy because it won’t give a good result. We were lucky to create this group and I wanted to make a universal film that spoke to an entire generation, so we needed people who were the most representative. Fortunately it worked very well between them, with me and as a result we created this band which feels like the image.
You are actually filming Jérôme Niel, an actor and comedian who comes from YouTube and who is representative of a generation. You immediately thought of its role in Vermin ?
SV : Yeah, we know him very well with Flo (Florent Bernard, the screenwriter), he was the only one who had a role already written for him. I wanted to show a little-known side of Jérôme. We know him to be ultra nervous, ultra dynamic and excited and we wanted to show his gentleness, his discretion, because in private, it’s not the same. He’s the only one who doesn’t have an arc, his character doesn’t evolve. He is already heroic at the beginning, but his tragedy is not being listened to and taken seriously by the people around him. He will have his moment of glory and it was super touching to give that to Jérôme who is someone who heals people through laughter. He does a lot of good for a lot of people by making them laugh. To give that in the film in a slightly softer and more discreet way I thought it was cool, in the middle of a film which is overexcited.
And for the other actors, had you already seen their work before?
SV: Théo (Christine) it was the flesh of Vermin, he was going to physically represent the film. It’s very animalistic and it’s a very animalistic film. It was important that he himself be this body. Finn (Finnegan Oldfield) he had passed the castings for the role of Kaleb (played by Theo Christine) and after five minutes I told myself it was Jordi! I think a lot based on the physical in fact, I like to film bodies, so I look at its movement, the way it stretches its neck, moves its mouth… And I say to myself “It actually stinks of Jordi”. He has a kind of awkward gesture where he can’t place himself and he’s constantly pretending to be sure of himself when he’s not. Very quickly I told him “no offense you’re a fucking actor but what do you think of Jordi’s role?” Luckily he really wanted to make the film and he accepted when other actors could have said “no thanks” because it’s not the leading role. For the girls it was different because it was the first film of Lisa (Nyarko) and concerning Sofia (Lesaffre) she has a discreet career with supporting roles that are extraordinary. They tried crazy, it was indescribable in fact. You want to film them, they embody something, it touches you, it makes you laugh and at the same time they are 100% in the drama.
Did you do any rehearsals with the actors? Did you put them in a situation?
SV: With Lisa and Sofia I had them test it in a shower, and there was a spider on the shower handle. They can’t go out and they have to play calling a friend to come and help them. The person who played the friend was in another room and I told her that she had to answer the phone but play the one who didn’t have time, she’s with friends in the Greek downstairs, she’s laughing , and sometimes she doesn’t even listen to it to make the one stuck in the shower freak out. It put them under such extreme tension! I was dying of laughter behind the camera but they were 100% drama, they were crying, they were pulling their hair. These two actresses were the energy of Vermin.
You co-wrote the film with Florent Bernard who also comes from YouTube. Did you meet him thanks to Jérôme?
SV: Yeah, that’s it ! I had made my short films and I admired the way he wrote the characters. We know he’s funny, he wrote The flame And Blocked. But what we know less is the extent to which he creates sensitive characters, with very interesting arcs. When I met him through Jérôme, Flo had seen my shorts and he loved it so we understood each other very quickly. I told him that I had flaws in the writing of the characters. Everything that is tension, action, three acts, I have it, what I lack is a little more depth, a little more sensitivity. I need someone to walk me through this. And he told me “well what I miss is the tension, etc…” so we said to ourselves “guy, we are meant to work together”. We were talking this morning about the pitfalls to avoid in horror films, and in particular survival, it’s the character side “function”. The characters that we eliminate and which allow us to have cool scenes and somewhat funny deaths and then we move on. On the contrary, we had to be afraid for each character when I directed the actors, that’s a bit of what I told them, that is to say: “we forget the spiders, we forget the horror, you’re just among friends, you have to survive and no one should be left behind.” This is where we find real things. We didn’t know if the film would come to fruition and in the end it did. Now we don’t let go with Flo, we continue to do things together.
So the collaboration will continue…
SV: Vermin 2, with snakes! (laughter)
So, is this just the beginning of Sébastien Vaniček?
SV: It was Harry (Tordjman, the producer) who asked me why I make films and in fact the only time you can’t lie is in terms of emotions. You can say “I didn’t feel that way, I’m not sad, etc…” but what you experienced inside you can’t hide it and if you’re sad you’ll feel it. It is only in front of a work of art, whether it is a painting, a literary work or a film, that we feel true things. And making people feel emotions is really my main goal in life. And the larger the audience will be and locked in a room where I can make them react through the senses, the image, the sound, make their bodies vibrate too, and that’s what makes me happy!
How are you feeling as the release approaches? Do you have any apprehensions? Any specific expectations?
SV: Yeah it’s starting to build up a little, that’s it, the film we made it, it’s there. We had the accolades of the profession, that of critics and that of festivals. The general public is something completely different. I did it thinking of them, in the sense that I am the general public, I will watch films for the general public, films which are events and which are there to entertain me. The question remains: “did I manage to make one?” Only they can answer it. So I’m a little bit… I’m looking forward to it, for sure.
Vermin: A summit of horror made in France (review)
