A note from Cristophe Gans
"Saint Ange" is neither a horror film, nor a thriller, even less a psychological drama…
"Saint Ange" is a mystery, a somewhat forgotten genre which has nevertheless given French cinema some of its most beautiful, poetic jewels from the 1940s and 50s: "Les Disparus de Saint Agil" (Boys' School), "Sortilèges" (The Bellman), "Marianne de Ma Jeunesse" (Marianne of My Youth), "Les Diaboliques" (Diabolique)…
That Pascal Laugier has rediscovered this haunted inspiration, the nocturnal lyricism of these prestigious films is hardly surprising…given that I was lucky enough to see his short film "4ème Sous-Sol" where not only his taste but also his talent for pallid atmospheres, the paradoxical, and the calmly hallucinatory guide each shot.
Pascal Laugier isn't alone: he's not the only one to return to the subtle essentials of anguish.  Recently, The Sixth Sense by M. Night Shyamalan, The Others by Alejandro Amenabar and also Ring by Hideo Nakata strongly prove that the door is open for that which we respectfully call a "prestige fantasy" built on the rehabilitation of the principal character - and thus on the work of the main actor - in the process of fear as well as an elegant and cultivated reading of the genre.
That this new generation of storytellers is appearing more or less all over the world and not only in the United States is the best proof of the public's insatiable and unanimous appetite for the widespread, yet shockingly similar echoes of these forgotten dramas, woven into the very fabric of our memories.
I'd bet that the secrets of "Saint Ange" will be able to satisfy this expectation.

About the Production
Pascal Laugier belongs to a generation of young directors who grew up during the video boom in the early 80s, taking from it a love of cinema both empirical and insatiable.  Devouring every film from every era and every genre at an early age, Pascal rapidly developed a taste for the bizarre, suspenseful and mysterious.
This was at the same time that the famous magazine Starfix, created by Christophe Gans, became the official guide to a certain idea of cinema, pushing to the forefront such underestimated cineastes like Dario Argento or John Carpenter, whose films were the beginning of many a young filmmaker's calling.
Thus, it was Christophe Gans to whom Pascal showed an early edit of his short film "4ème Sous-Sol" in 1999.
Impressed by the result, Gans offered him the job of directing the behind-the-scenes documentary of the film he was preparing to shoot: "Le Pacte des Loups" (Brotherhood of the Wolf).
Pascal made two more documentaries on the film which attracted a lot of attention: "Les Entrailles de la Bête" and "Le Pacte des Loups: Les Coulisses du Tournage."  The latter was shown on Canal Plus.
After this experience, Richard Grandpierre approached Pascal Laugier to develop a project at his company Eskwad.  The result is "Saint Ange", his first feature-length fiction film.

Christophe Gans, you're still young for a director.  What attracted you to the production?
Christophe Gans: It wasn't a specific desire, more a general feeling for the genre and the idea of cinema.  As you know, I was a journalist and I've love the idea of communicating, sharing.  It happened that I loved Pascal's short film "4ème Sous-Sol".  I had seen his earlier short, "Tête de Citrouille", and the leap in quality between the two was really impressive.  Pascal ran up against some financial difficulty to finish "4ème Sous-Sol", so I offered him the job of directing the behind-the-scenes for Brotherhood of the Wolf so that he could make himself a little money.  Betting on new writer/directors is an exercise I've always practiced in my role as a cinephile.   It's the best way to keep your enthusiasm up.  If I can also help birth a new talent while at the same time putting my name on the credits of his/her film, it's even more gratifying.

Pascal Laugier, how did this project begin?
Pascal Laugier: I was finishing the behind-the-scenes of Brotherhood of the Wolf and Richard Grandpierre came to see me to ask if I had any projects in mind.  I didn't have a written screenplay at all, but I spoke to Richard about an idea that had been running around in my head - a ghost story with young women.  I set out to write it right away, developing the story around Anna, a young housemaid who arrives in a strange place.  Obviously, I chose the behind-closed-doors format for budgetary reasons, but also to ensure a controlled setting.  I wanted Saint Ange to be a film that made you think, very introspective.  From the first to the ninth draft, the story evolved a lot, but all the while keeping this very feminine vision of the fantastic that had always interested me.  With his objectivity, and especially his knowledge of the genre, Christophe Gans was the reader I preferred.  He guided me and shattered certain preconceived notions I had.  In particular, he took a very hard line with regards to the point of view.  The film absolutely had to be told through the eyes of Anna, the character played by Virginie Ledoyen.  So we were vigilant during the writing so as to never stray too much from this principle, without stifling the narrative.

Christophe Gans: My favorite fantasy film is Robert Wise's The Haunting.  I'm also a big fan of Jack Clayton's The Innocents, and, in general, I prefer this kind of subtle, fantasy film - more feminine, more disturbing.  I found it courageous of Pascal to want to sign up for this type of fantasy cinema, deep and sensual, which recently has seen people like Alejandro Amenabar or Hideo Nakata as its biggest proponents.  As a co-producer on Saint Ange, I invested a lot of time in the writing and post-production.  It was Richard Grandpierre who made sure the film had a comfortable budget which would permit Pascal to attain his utmost ambitions.  Richard possesses an energy and an enthusiasm which are the same for a debut film as for that of a seasoned filmmaker.  Giving Pascal the means to realize his vision was just as important as guiding him on the script.  I never would have put my name on a film which didn't have a true visual style and an elegant vision of the genre.  In associating myself with Pascal and Richard, I had every confidence.

Pascal Laugier: From the very beginning, I wanted Saint Ange to respect the rules of classic fantasy but stay geared towards a broad audience.  I wanted people to get caught up in the story of this solitary character, and, at the same time, I wanted the film to be frightening, moving and a little unexpected.  It's by pushing this desire forward from the writing stage that we were able to escape the clichés of the somewhat cheesier fantasy films, which were also brewing around the time that we launched the project.

Christophe Gans: I think that Saint Ange is, above all, a film for those who believe in images.  I've always had an almost sacred vision of cinema.  A principle on which Shyamalan, who is for me one of the greatest directors working these days, founded his films.  It's clear that Pascal's ambition was not to take refuge either in literalism or in an ironic pseudo-distance in order to avoid potential blunders.

We also sense a common admiration of the literary roots of fantasy films.  You adapted Lovecraft in "Necronomicon" and "Saint Ange" is a film which recalls a certain romantic literary tradition.
Christophe Gans: Cinema is so powerful, first and foremost, because it does not cut itself off from its roots, whether from literature or from films that came before.  Film is a receptacle for all artistic traditions.  It must keep its ties with the classical arts.
Pascal Laugier: There is an undeniable Victorian dimension in Saint Ange, not because of its aesthetic but because of its themes, as the main principle of Victorian literature is fantasy born of the neuroses of the characters and not of external elements.  It's not a factual representation, but is necessarily subjective, open to interpretation.  The fantasy film form lets me communicate that: my vision of women as complex, neurotic and inscrutable.  All my short films are fantasies; I can't imagine a more precise way to express what I feel.  It's a form that's not only poetic but also very expressive.  Motherhood, the fear of the unknown, the heaviness of the values of post-war France… These are all elements that interest me.
Christophe Gans: For a period of time, people denied this personal dimension of genre cinema to favor its spectacular side.  Today, we know that John Carpenter and George Romero are no less auteurs than Tarkovski and Bergman were.
Pascal Laugier: What's more, genre filmmaking lets me evoke a prominent historical context, that of the fifties and sixties.  I wanted to attempt to get closer to the films of Duvivier, Franju, Cocteau and even Christian-Jacque.  Boys' School is obviously a film that greatly influenced me, as did Clouzot's Diabolique.  I wanted to show that France represents, at least for me, a very fertile, mythological terrain.
Christophe Gans: At the same time, Pascal succeeded in never letting himself become a prisoner of the past or nostalgia.
Pascal Laugier: We organized the orphanage of Saint Ange around the idea that it was that grandmother's house we all knew as children: that fascinating and slightly terrifying place, full of memory and dark corners that we could fill with limitless narrative possibilities.  These are sensations that are a part of the collective unconscious.

Pascal Laugier, you chose Virginie Ledoyen to play Anna, the heroine of Saint Ange.  However, she represents the most French part of French cinema!
Pascal Laugier: I think actors should never be reduced to the roles they play.  The proof is that Virginie accepted Saint Ange in less than 24 hours, because she was attracted by the idea of changing her cinematographic universe.  She's the most "cinegenic" actor I've ever met.  She has a classic beauty that allows her to incarnate any role to perfection.  At the same time, she resembles the ethereal heroines I love in Dario Argento's films and in Japanese cinema.  But she also brings her own emotions to the table.  She possesses a true dark-side, which can emerge unexpectedly, in the course of a look, a shot.  She had, on set, a way of challenging some of my choices, references and ideas, which was very refreshing.  On the other hand, Lou Doillon, who's half English, brings a gothic shade to her character, very suitable.  The contrast between Virginie's naturalist acting and Lou's more expressionist acting seemed very rich to me.
Christophe Gans: In general, you could say that the creative process of Saint Ange went really smoothly.  It was simple, almost without question, because Pascal's choices were very clear from the beginning.  My presence by his side, during the writing and editing, allowed Pascal to have an opponent, someone to box him into a corner or, at other times, give him peace of mind about his choices.  I deliberately pulled back during the shoot because the presence of another filmmaker can be paralyzing, especially for a first-time director.  Within Eskwad, Richard Grandpierre's production company, there's a kind of team, a pool of directors, which also includes Nicolas Boukhrief (director of "Le Convoyeur" (Cash Truck)).  He also was able to give his opinion on certain aspects of the film.   It's very stimulating.  Since I wasn't shooting at the time, Saint Ange was a way for me to confront my own ideas about other approaches to film.  Pascal is very classical in his vision.  He has a very introspective approach to the genre, and, in a way, his cinema is the opposite of mine.  Personally, I like to proceed by grafting, by accumulation.  So our approaches are quite complementary.
Pascal Laugier: I think our experience was unique because filmmakers are in general very paranoid people, who live in fear of what other people think of them.  But here, being confronted with more experienced filmmakers allowed me to be sure of my choices, to deal with outside opinions more serenely, without any ego issues.  Because I have to point out we are, above all, friends.  I hope that in the end, Saint Ange will be seen as an attempt to continue the tradition of the cinema I love, a classical vision of the fantastic and very narrative.  I think the film holds back its surprises, and I tried at all costs to avoid the formulaic aspect of certain American films.  I wanted to rediscover the freedom of the inspiration that the great auteurs of the genre had, who in the seventies experimented both with narrative and form in their films, while conserving the roots of fantastic mythology.  Maybe that's the more European side of the film.
Christophe Gans: I think every film, each cinematographic endeavor, must be considered a unique experience.  The only thing Pascal Laugier, Nicolas Boukhrief and I have in common is that we are part of a generation that knows its cinema really well.  As for the rest, I think our films speak for themselves.

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