Justine Triet and Arthur Harari chatted about their Academy Award win for “Best Original Screenplay” for “Anatomy of a Fall” at the Oscars press room.
The 96th annual Academy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, took place on Sunday, March 10, at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood.
Justine Triet also served as director of the crime drama film “Anatomy of a Fall.”
The movie was nominated for a total of five Academy Awards including “Best Actress” for Sandra Huller, “Best Director” for Triet, “Best Film Editing” for Laurent Sénéchal, and “Best Picture.” Triet and Harari won the Oscar for “Best Original Screenplay.”
In the “Best Original Screenplay” category, “Anatomy of a Fall” triumphed over the screenplays of such movies as “The Holdovers,” “Maestro,” “May December,” and “Past Lives.”
Triet and Harari’s acceptance speech for “Writing (Original Screenplay)” may be seen below:
The synopsis is: For the past year, Sandra Voyter (played by Sandra Huller), her husband Samuel, and their 11-year-old son Daniel have lived a secluded life in a remote town in the French Alps.
When Samuel is found dead in the snow below their chalet, the police question whether he was murdered or committed suicide. Samuel’s suspicious death is presumed murder, and Sandra becomes the main suspect.
What follows is not just an investigation into the circumstances of Samuel’s death but an unsettling psychological journey into the depths of Sandra and Samuel’s conflicted relationship.
Arthur Harari discusses what this screenplay has taught him
When asked by this journalist at the Press Room if writing this screenplay taught them anything about themselves as filmmakers, Harari remarked, “I only wrote the film with Justine, so it was a very fascinating experience to write and to try to write because I’m a director mostly.”
“So, it was like being in Justine’s brain in a way,” Harari said. “At some point, the way we wrote Sandra’s character, for instance, was very interesting for me because there is a lot of Justine.”
“Justine put a lot of herself in this part, but I put a lot of myself also in the part. So, it’s the boundaries, that’s true. I know you are laughing about something else,” he elaborated.
“So, the boundaries were not so clear between who is who and who is a woman or a man,” Harari noted. “It was all about trying to put something true in it, so yeah, for me it was a very, very fascinating experience to write this film.”
Justine Triet on the lessons learned from this screenplay
Justine Triet also opened up about the lessons learned from writing this screenplay. “For me, it was a humble experience because you know, he is director and sometimes it was just really fast to work with him,” Triet said.
“It was like ping-pong, you know,” she acknowledged. “And sometimes, it was not so easy for our ego because sometimes it was very fast to say: ‘Okay, I don’t like this scene. Okay, it’s bullshit.’ It was really fast but, in a way, it was really interesting because for me, it’s the best way to work,” Triet elaborated.
“To really be with the person that you love so much and with people who are so honest with you. For me, it’s the best, and it’s the best way to work, of course,” Triet concluded.
‘Anatomy of a Fall’ — A big winner at the 2024 César Awards
Last month, “Anatomy of a Fall” was also victorious at the 2024 César Awards, where it won six categories. It won the César Awards for “Best Film,” “Best Director” for Triet, “Best Actress” for Sandra Huller, “Best Supporting Actor” for Vincent Renzi, “Best Original Screenplay” for Triet and Harari, and “Best Editing” for Laurent Sénéchal.
“Anatomy of a Fall” will be available to stream on Hulu on March 22.
Please Note: This journalist was credentialed for the 2024 Academy Awards and participated in the Press Room interviews with the 2024 Oscar winners.
