Disappearance, mystery, and unconditional love: with Sauvage, Camille Ponsin takes on a true story that's as fascinating as it is thrilling. Blending intimate investigation with a haunting narrative, the director delivers a powerful debut film, featuring Célime Sallette. We met with them to chat about this extraordinary project as the film hits the screens.
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Tell us about the genesis of the film. What inspired you to make it?
Camille Ponsin: It's a fascinating story set in the Cévennes, where I have family and where I partly grew up. The journey of this young girl and her mother has always touched me deeply. I’ve faced those emotions for many years. It changed the life of the valley. Naturally, I wanted to tell it. I first conducted a documentary investigation to enrich the screenplay, and then I met Isabelle Madelaine, the producer, who suggested we do it as a fiction.
Céline Sallette: Honestly, when faced with such a clear approach, I could only say yes! What was exciting about Camille's project was exploring this margin, digging into the question: what does it mean to...disappear from society? And of course, the whole question about the bond with their child. We know that our children don’t belong to us, that is what lies at the heart of the film.
As a mother, how did you receive this script?
Céline Sallette: There is a mystery in the fate of our children and they don’t really belong to us. We learn and grow through the experience of parenthood. There isn't a manual for it; you don't learn this in school. But mistakes come with a steep price.
Did you feel a responsibility towards the real character?
Camille Ponsin: Of course. Even though fiction allows for certain liberties, it’s essential to take care of the characters whose story we are telling. I worked closely with the mother; I accompanied her as she took care of her daughter lost in the woods, bringing her food and searching for signs of her. I conducted many interviews to trace the story over fifteen years. All of this was to stay as close to the mother’s truth as possible and to avoid caricature, which is very important.
It's easy in this kind of context. It was important to show all the complexity and pain she was experiencing, but also to try to understand her daughter, her complete withdrawal from the world, and her wild side, with all the complexities that come with it.Céline Sallette: Me too, of course. Working with stories, whether true or fictional, comes with a responsibility: to embody fragments of humanity. Even in fiction, we carry a weight of soul. The fact that these people exist makes this responsibility even stronger.
Did you write the part for two?
Camille Ponsin: There was a script, but a lot of exchanges with the actors shaped the characters. There were contributions from Céline, from Bertrand Belin in the role of the father, and from Lou in the role of the young girl. All cinema is a team effort, including the technicians. We discussed, confronted our viewpoints and decided to keep an element of mystery, as it’s hard to provide answers that we don’t have, and the young girl and the mother themselves don’t always know.
The film questions the contradictions of a libertarian community. Is that a central issue for you?
Camille Ponsin: No, it's not a central issue; it's the backdrop. The story could take place elsewhere. It’s primarily the tale of a drifting child and a mother trying to help him.
to deal with psychological issues and depression, but the real question is: how do you take care of someone who is slipping away from us? Sometimes we make mistakes, but we cannot not try. Even in a community that embraces marginality, this extreme drift disturbs and confronts everyone with their own contradictions.Would you say, to conclude, that Sauvage uses the logic of fairy tales only to turn it upside down at the very end of the film?
Camille Ponsin: Indeed, by choosing to show documentary footage of the real mother during the credits, I wanted to remind everyone that this film is inspired by an incredible true story at a moment when many might have forgotten it, swept away by the romantic and emotional...
Sauvage by Camille Ponsin
Starring Céline Sallette, Lou Lampros, and Bertrand Belin
In theaters on April 8