Breaking Baz at London Film Festival: Emerald Fennell On Why LFF Opener ‘Saltburn’ Is Like “Prodding Something Uncomfortable” But “That’s What Movies Are For”
deadline.comEXCLUSIVE: Oscar-winning writer-director Emerald Fennell says that “if you’re prodding at something uncomfortable, that’s what movies are for.” The filmmaker spoke to this columnist at the BFI London Film Festival (LFF) opening night gala reception held at BFI Southbank following the international premiere of Saltburn, her deliciously dark comedy about manners and class.
Recently, at Telluride, Ilker Çatak, director of The Teachers’ Lounge, Germany’s submission for Best International Feature at the 96th Academy Awards, discussed movies that provoke, and he admiringly cited the example of Fennell’s Saltburn.
Speaking to me, Fennell accepted the compliment graciously but argued that the Amazon Studios film is not provocative for the sake of it. “If you’re aiming to make something that sounds true and even if it’s metaphorical and kind of Gothic, and there’s something that makes people shift in their seats, it’s because we’re feeling something that maybe we shouldn’t.
That maybe we don’t want to interrogate. “And so there’s no point in being provocative for the sake of it – but if you’re kind of prodding at something uncomfortable, that’s what movies are for.” “I stick my finger in,” she adds gleefully.
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