We interviewed Belgian director Paloma Sermon-Daï about the making of her first feature fiction film, It’s Raining In The House, presented at the 2023 Critics’ Week, as part of the 76th Cannes Film Festival.
The 76th Cannes Film Festival offers us the possibility of meeting amazing new talents, through its various sections and competitions. One that is particularly prolific is the International Critics’ Week, where we were delighted to discover It’s Raining In The House by Paloma Sermon-Daï. Set in Belgium, the director’s home country, Paloma Sermon-Daï’s first fiction feature film deals with 17-year-old Purdey and her younger brother Makenzy who walk the line between experiencing adolescence, finding love and fending for themselves. While Purdey works as a cleaner in a hotel complex, Makenzy earns some money by robbing tourists. Left to their own devices, they must learn to support each other in a surprisingly tender journey that chronicles what feels like the last summer of their youth. We had a great time chatting with the director about the making of her film.
Film Fest Report: How do you feel about premiering your film in Cannes?
Paloma Sermon-Daï: My team and I are really pleased to be here. The young actors got to see the film for the first time, which made the screening very emotional. As for me, after seeing it over and over again during the postproduction phase, I was finally able to feel emotion and joy as I saw it played on the big screen.
Film Fest Report: How did it all start? What prompted you to work on this film?
Paloma Sermon-Daï: I wanted to keep exploring the Walloon region, where I was born. I felt like I still had things to tell about this land. And I wanted to shoot a fiction there. I had already made my first short film there, called Makenzy where I focused on childhood, and a short documentary film called Petit Samedi, focusing on adulthood. I wanted this time to film adolescence in this region, and I felt I had a lot to say, which is why I decided to make a fiction.
Film Fest Report: You cast real brother and sisters for the film. What did it bring to the project?
Paloma Sermon-Daï: Purdey Lombet is actually my niece, and Makenzy is his half-brother. Their real complicity is very refreshing and inspired me a lot while writing the story. I think they enjoyed shooting a lot. It was overall a fabulous shoot which felt like family holidays, and we were a very small crew. I think the biggest challenge for them was to be having some serious and sensitive conversations, which they usually do not have together. So, they had to learn to overcome this barrier. But I worked with them for a year before we started shooting. Every two or three weeks, we would meet, and we would rehearse and work around their characters. This process also helped me enrich the script.
Film Fest Report: So, did you work alone on the script of It’s Raining In The House?
Paloma Sermon-Daï: I was lucky enough to be advised by Emmanuel Marre, the co-director of Zero Fucks Given (2021 Critics’ Week), who is a friend of mine and who works with my producers as well. Then, I never wrote a full script before we shot. There was a substantial part of improvisation, also because I wanted to capitalize on how refreshing and spontaneous my actors could be. Some important scenes and key dialogues were written, but overall I let them free.
Film Fest Report: How did you manage to deal with the topic of precariousness, while avoiding the usual clichés?
Paloma Sermon-Daï: You have to be careful. I grew up in a simple environment, surrounded by very different people. The film is inspired by my own story, the actors’ story and the people I grew up with. I have evolved in such an unstable environment, I have been in contact with low income families, which gives me a natural legitimacy to talk about this. Yet, it all depends on finding the right angle and distance. You have to avoid stressing how miserable people can be.
Film Fest Report: The film also depicts a female character that has to take her responsibility and provide for her family. How did you craft this character?
Paloma Sermon-Daï: I have experienced this reality very often. A young girl having to do the role of a parent that is missing or unable. There is a sense of sacrifice. In the film, Purdey is 17 years old while her brother is 15. She is to become an adult soon. She is more mature and decides to take her responsibilities, to face the chaos around her. She decides to find a job and do her best to provide her family. Meanwhile, Makenzy acts differently. He is probably suffering a bit more inside, which will lead him to rebel and overcome this inner violence.
Film Fest Report: Yet, he defends his mother and wants to stay in the house. How do you describe his complexity?
Paloma Sermon-Daï: I think he has mixed feelings; he is torn. Makenzy’s dream is that his mother and sister end up making peace and that things get calm and serene.
Film Fest Report: Where did you draw your inspiration when it comes to the aesthetics of the film?
Paloma Sermon-Daï: I love Nobody Knows (2003) by Hirokazu Kore-eda, which also deals with an absent mother. It was also an important visual reference because of the beautiful natural lights, with warm colors. Along with my Director of Photography Frédéric Noirhomme, we really wanted the viewer to feel the heat of the summer on screen.
Film Fest Report: What was the most difficult part of the shooting?
Paloma Sermon-Daï: Honestly, we had a pretty fluid shooting. Yet, working with nonprofessional actors is always challenging. And I wanted to avoid leaning into a documentary approach, because I had a real ambition to make a fiction. I had specific ideas for the mise en scene. So, overall my main task was to make it all work together. But I worked hard before the shooting, and I did not try and push my actors to areas where they would not feel safe.
Film Fest Report: Do you consider keeping on working on fictions in the near future?
Paloma Sermon-Daï: We did this film with only 400,000€. I know the money alone does not make a good film. But I am curious to see what I can manage to do with a little bit more time and money. With a co-writer or some professional actors as well for instance. I am sure I will make more documentaries as well, but at the moment I am curious to dig more into fiction. Moreover, as It’s Raining In The House is reaching an audience now makes me want to work on the next film. I am starting getting ideas and I have a solid team around me, so I am pretty confident.
Acknowledgements: Stanislas Baudry.
