On inclusivity

Cinema was born in Paris at a time when there was what we call in France already some métissage, which is not exactly mixed race. It’s the mix of cultures, the encounters of different people coming from different places, and the fact that France was a colonial country at that time, and many French people used to go to China, used to go on the African continent, used to go everywhere in the colonial empire. As a performer myself, as an actress and as a director, it’s important for me to show the audience that this legacy exists, that we have this history in common and, more than history, it’s a question of culture, of what we do with history as a culture, as a common language. So it’s important to me that even in the places of power in the industry, people have access to this knowledge that métissage, the mix of our cultures, has been here for a long time, since cinema was created. I think we have to do it, especially for the younger people, for the younger generation, for them to watch stories that show who they are in terms of history, of course, but also in terms of who we are together now, as a nation, as people.

It gives me a feeling of strength to know that there’s been a presence of foreign people for a long time in France, and now we’re not foreigners anymore. We are part of the French society. Completely. This feeling of legitimacy is quite important because it gives us the strength to go forward and to take what is ours.

Cinema is intertwined with the history of theater in France. Since the 16th century, there has been a representation of non-white people on stage. This shows that there’s been an interest of French people for the world, of course, but also for this subject matter of race and politics. It’s not something new and it continued after and with the history of theater, with the arrival of cinema.

As a French Black actress of West African origin, I’ve often heard that we have to be patient. We have to wait until the French society is ready to have a representation that is not only white. And when I look back to this time, I have the feeling that we, as French people, no matter where we come from, we have the same legacy. And this legacy is made of métissage. It’s made of this multiplicity of the French society. We didn’t arrive two decades ago with the waves of immigration. We’ve been there for a long time. Métissage is not only about mixed races. It’s not biological only. To me, it’s about a new culture that is constantly evolving because there’s such a mix of different people, different cultures that it doesn’t become one culture forever