If Rue de la Grange aux Belles Could Talk: A Q&A with filmmaker Tau Barut
Tau Barut on filmmaking.
Meet Tau Barut. He’s got next.
Tau and I first met at Ten Belles -- a coffee shop near the Canal Saint Martin-- where we discussed a script I had sent him surrounding loneliness. The intention of the initial script was to convey the life many expatriates find to be a shared experience. In the middle of our respective drinks, the conversation pivoted towards race. The avant premiere of “If Beale Street Could Talk” was approaching, in January, which I was planning on seeing, and Barut had carried along his latest reading material: James Baldwin. It felt serendipitous.
By the end of our first meeting, we decided to toss the loneliness script, for now, and tackle the elephant in the room: the black and/or noir experience in France. And, so our project began, a two-man show, which then expanded to collaborative effort and a guerilla style one day shoot in four different locations in Paris.
Here I talked to Tau who shot and edited one of my favorite pieces for the Apres Josephine Web site.
What’s it like being a young, black filmmaker in France?
As for many people, it’s a struggle. Most people think you need to be the most talented person out there, which is true in some ways, but it also comes down to who you know within the industry. The fact that I do not see many black directors out there does not make it very easy to feel legitimate or picture myself as a successful director.
Have you ever felt seen on-screen in French cinema?
Not really. I used to feel represented when I was younger because I had never thought about what it meant to be black (for disclosure, my mom is white). This is what I like about cinema, some topics are so universal that you can identify to almost anything and anyone, if the script, actors, directing, cinematography, sound design etc. are good. It’s when I started to become more interested in how I saw myself and how the world saw me (a.k.a as black) that I started noticing the lack of diversity in French cinema. Thus, I started to understand that universal, in Western countries, does not apply to everybody. It simply means “White”.
Tell our readers about your visual style. In your work, what I have noticed, is the vibrancy of color during your filmmaking. I imagine this is intentional. Do you consider this a part of your visual style?
It’s true that I enjoy saturated colors and highly contrasted images. These are personal tastes but I also know that I always have to adapt to the project. The color panel one might use will mostly depend on the kind of project you are working on. You won’t use the same color panel, saturation or contrast if you are working on a horror flick or a comedy, and that also applies to emotion and character. I do enjoy filming in colorful places. That being said, I’d really enjoy working on a project using only black and white, in the way John Cassavetes uses that contrast to play with skin tones : all characters just turn out to be several shades of grey instead of black or white.
What is your process when bringing a script to life?
The first thing I’d like to say is that most of the projects I’ve worked on have been as a cinematographer or cameraman, so the process of bringing a script to life isn’t always my responsibility. What I do know is that when I’ve worked on video clips or short films as a director, it was important for me to write down visual ideas that I could then play around with and bring to life with the help of all parties involved (actors, set designers..) It’s important to break down the main themes of the script and try to understand what motivates the characters, what their narrative arc is and how they will evolve with time.
How much of your personal experience is a part of the filmmaking process?
Well, as I mentioned previously, working on a set is an extremely collaborative process. For instance, if I’m directing a video for an artist, they will often have a very distinct idea and visual guidelines that I have to stick to. I would say that my personal experience then folds into the kinds of projects I decide to work on : for instance, the video we shot together felt very important to me because it was the first time that I shot with a predominantly black cast and crew, which was a first for me in Paris. I know I won’t always have the freedom to choose the projects I work on but it’s reassuring to know that I can combine work with themes that are dear to my heart.
We are seeing more black films being made in the United States of America, is that beginning to trickle down to France?
Absolutely not ! There is still a huge gap between the US and France at that level, mainly because a lot of French cinema is centered on the white, predominantly Parisian, bourgeoisie. Most black or minority characters you see in French films are either secondary characters or depicted as immigrants, troubled youths from la banlieue or prostitutes. In American cinema, black characters seem to have more depth because there has been more thought put into them. If you think of Ava Duvernay, Jordan Peele, Donald Glover, Lena Waithe, Steve McQueen (he’s British but I’m thinking of Widows, an American production) or Barry Jenkins (just to name a few) and their past work, you can feel that although their characters may share similar issues, they each have their own individuality. It’s not just about showing black people for the sake of it but actually treating them as fleshed out characters with full narrative arcs. Paper Boy in Atlanta might be a rapper on his way to success but his struggles and depression are not the same as Chiron’s in Moonlight. To me, the main difference is that French cinema only shows a stereotypical image of black people whereas American cinema will provide deep and interesting characters. That being said, Ladj Ly’s upcoming film Les Misérables, which won the prestigious Prix du Jury at the Cannes Film Festival this year will be the first since La Haine and Divines to bring marginalized French minorities into the light and give them the space they need to tell their own story.
“I know I won’t always have the freedom to choose the projects I work on but it’s reassuring to know that I can combine work with themes that are dear to my heart.
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What are your top 3 favorite films?
That’s a hard one. If I had to pick I’d say Rashômon by Akira Kurosawa, Arrival by Denis Villeneuve and The 13th by Ava Duvernay.
If you could work with any filmmaker, who would it be? Why?
It’s a tough question to answer because there are so many but the first name that springs to my mind is probably Ava Duvernay. For instance, the tremendous work she did on When They See Us and how she managed to transform the way people thought about the Central Park Five and actually showed what happened to Kevin, Yusef, Antron, Korey and Raymond. They weren’t just some black kids wrongfully convicted of rape but actual people. Turning that image around is one of the most powerful things I’ve seen lately. Also, her DOP, Bradford Young (Selma, Arrival, When They see Us, A Most Violent Year) is one of my favorites.
I’m not saying that there aren’t any non-black people I admire. I just think that seeing them as high achievers makes me more confident about my future success.
What are you currently working on?
I started working at a rental house a couple of months ago. I still have a lot to learn and it’s a great place to do so! I get to meet tons of camera assistants who teach me so many different ways to use all the tools I’ll need in the future. I have a couple of projects coming up such as a video clip for an Irish jazz singer that I’ll be shooting at the end of the month and I want to start working on my first short movie soon.
Do you have a favorite area to film in Paris? If so, where?
Sure I do. It would be the 20eme. I moved there a year and a half ago and I love it. Most tourists won’t necessarily come here on their first trip to Paris but to me it’s like a cozy little village with narrow streets with lots of diversity and awesome restaurants and bars!