A Weird Encounter with Claire Denis

I was just going through an old CD of photos and found this shot taken earlier this Spring. It's a lousy picture but brings back an odd memory. I had interviewed French filmmaker Claire Denis, who made one of my favorite films, "Beau Travail". But to my disappointment, her demeanor was a little bit argumenative. Although she wasn't trying to be mean, and she did nothing wrong whatsoever, she was a little rough around the edges, politeness-wise. But then she caught sight of a couple little girls that were part of a wedding party at the hotel where we were conducting the interview, called The Sorrento. Anyway, the girls were all decked out in these elaborate dresses for the ceremony. As soon as she saw them, Denis essentially turned her frown upside down in mere seconds. She ran off to take their picture, and was just grinning ear to ear. That's when this photo was taken. It was worth some gruffness to see that transformation she went through. Must be something about having a camera in her hands!