The Tragedy and Triumph of Sophie Fillières’ ‘This Life of Mine’: Justine Triet, Director’s Children and More Reflect on Her Final Film Ahead of Cannes Premiere

variety.com:

Ben Croll Shortly before last year’s Cannes Film Festival, director Sophie Fillières attended a cast and crew screening of “Anatomy of a Fall.” The filmmaker had a supporting role in the film, playing the deceased’s sister, and she soon celebrated her work’s Palme d’Or win from afar, hanging back in Paris, where she was preparing to shoot her seventh feature, “This Life of Mine.” The five-week production kicked off in late June, running smoothly and wrapping on the last day of July.

The next day, Fillières checked into the hospital; in less than a month, she was gone. If hardly offsetting the shock and hurt of her passing, Fillières leaves behind a remarkable legacy, as her final film will open this year’s Director’s Fortnight while a generation of French talents now looks to her with awe. “Seeing Sophie’s work for the first time gave me the impression of discovering a tone I didn’t know could exist in French cinema,” says “Anatomy of a Fall” director Justine Triet. “She pointed out a new way to make films that confronted the difficulties of everyday life in such a unique and humorous tone.

And that was so unusual, and so very reassuring.” Calling Fillières her “cinematic big sister,” Triet adds: “Sophie’s work mixed light-heartedness, humor and absurdity while confronting some extremely harsh subjects.

Her work had a kind of purity, never cheating or hiding how life really is, all while looking at the world with extreme honesty – and that’s a very precious thing.