In The Advocate, Michael Glitz interviews Céline Sciamma (right), screenwriter-director of Naissance des pieuvres / Water Lilies (screened in the Un Certain Regard sidebar), the story of a teenage girl who falls in love with another:
"So whoever you are, you have to identify with a 15-year-old girl. I wanted everybody in the audience — when [the two girls] kiss — I wanted everybody to want the kiss to happen.
"And also I wanted to contribute. There's really a lack of homosexual representation [in the movies], and I've suffered from this. Stories can really fulfill the lack of love or experience you can have when you're young."
Eric Kohn discusses Naissance des pieuvres and other Cannes screenings at indieWIRE:
"The French director demonstrates a strong command of character development and pace in this charming account of two high school girls whose friendship comes into question when various sexual tensions enter their naive existence. The main actress, Pauline Acquart, shows remarkable versatility for her young age, playing the doll-faced and timid Marie, who feels intimated her school's impressive swimming pool performers."
By the way, Naissance des pieuvres literally means "Birth of Octopuses." According to Lisa Nesselson's Variety review, "underwater shots of the young swimmers' paddling legs certainly look like flailing marine life."
60th Cannes Film Festival winners
Cannes Film Festival 2007 – Official Competition Line-Up
Cannes Film Festival 2007 – Un Certain Regard
60th Cannes Film Festival – Cinéfondation
Cannes 2007 – Special Screenings
Cannes 2007 Opens with MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS
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Cannes '07: Four Funerals and an Orphanage
Water Lilies is a lovely film.