Writer/Director Alexandre Pelletier’s short film A Breath of Fresh Air is a very funny and entertaining movie. It was featured in Cannes through Telefilm’s RDV Canada program.
We caught up with Alexandre in Cannes in May.
HNMAG: You had a workshop today.
Alexandre Pelletier: Yes, and tomorrow, we have a pitch for a few festival programmers such as Sundance and Berlin. There will be around fifty in addendence including many industry professionals.
HNMAG: Let’s say Sundance likes your pitch. Will they get back to you about screening in Utah?
Alexandre Pelletier: That would be the idea, but my film is also a proof of concept for a feature film. The same concept, a high school talent competition. There are also programs at Sundance and Berlin to develop screenplays. They might invite me to join one of those.
HNMAG: In A Breath of Fresh Air, what exactly are the students’ various talents?
Alexandre Pelletier: It’s a high school level potpourri of talents, like dance numbers, slams, singing, mediocre magician…etc. A high school talent show. The jurors take it way too seriously.
HNMAG: Did you grow up in Montreal?
Alexandre Pelletier: Yes, the South Shore.
HNMAG: Like Longueil, Brossard?
Alexandre Pelletier: St. Bruno.
HNMAG: Is your movie a mockumentary?
Alexandre Pelletier: Almost. There are some mockumentary elements, but most of it is set in the jury deliberation room. That is scripted fiction and not an interview style. Like in Twelve Angry Men, there is broken A/C, emotions are high, voices are rising. Throughout the film, we cut to short clips of the contestants as if that was a video made by the high school. That is behind the scenes preperation and interviews.
HNMAG: Was any of it improvised?
Alexandre Pelletier: There were some ad-libs. I used actors that were comfortable with improv. In the feature I want to have more of that mockumentary style. It would be like what Christopher Guest does. I love the humor of ordinary, mondane things taken way too seriously.
HNMAG: You have experience in television comedy.
Alexandre Pelletier: It would be more like short form series. As a writer, I do have family sit-com experience. I worked on the Quebec City version of Brooklyn 99. Our version was not as diverse as the original but that’s indicative of the local community and police force. My first work as a director though were short form series.
HNMAG: How long is A Breath of Fresh Air?
Alexandre Pelletier: It’s a twelve minute short. For the feature, like the Christopher Guest mockumentaries, I want to build very detailed back stories with the performers. They don’t know each others backstories as much, so they can surprise each other. It’s similar to A Mighty Wind. Jennifer Coolidge’s character was a former adult film star but John Michael Higgins doesn’t know that. When she drops that information, you get the real surprise reaction.
HNMAG: Are you looking for French co-producers in Cannes?
Alexandre Pelletier: No, I’m looking for Quebec producers here because you don’t get to network at home as much. When you have a good working relationship, you work with the same people. I want to meet new producers here. There are some very strong producers this year at Cannes.
HNMAG: You grew up in Montreal. Did you go to University there?
Alexandre Pelletier: I went to Univesité Du Québec A Montréal (UQAM). My father is in the business, so I kind of followed his strength. He’s a comedy writer. After university, I wrote on family sit-coms. After seeing my friend having so much fun on a short series directing, I got the directing bug too. Le Killing was the first series I worked on. It was a Quebec take on Wet Hot American Summer.
HNMAG: What’s your next project?
Alexandre Pelletier: I am submitting a movie to Telefilm, the english title is Budding Geniuses. It’s a sports competition and the sport is Trivia. The structure is like Alexander Payne’s Election.
HNMAG: What are some takeaways from A Breath of Fresh Air?
Alexandre Pelletier: It’s self-produced. I shot it in a single day. The location is my former high school. My old teacher worked as a casting director. The students performing, were real students at my old high school. We premiere this summer at the Fantasia festival in Montreal.
What’s really a breath of fresh air is the comedic and fun approach that Alexandre Pelletier has for his projects. We have confidence that both Budding Geniuses and A Breath of Fresh Air feature films will be made and successful comedies. Quebec is different than the rest of Canada and there is thriving industry that celebrates their own locations. The rest of the country is striving for that cultural appreciation and independence.