Isabelle Huppert, Guest of Honor at the 66th Thessaloniki Film Festival, had a conversation with George Krassakopoulos about her career and her approach to acting

The dazzling star Isabelle Hyppert, this year’s Festival honoree, spoke on Monday, November 3, at the John Cassavetes Hall, as part of the 66th Thessaloniki Film Festival, about her career, the female presence in the cinema world and the film “The richest woman in the world” that is being presented at the Festival. George Krassakopoulos, head of the Festival program and coordinator of Isabelle Hyppert’s press conference, welcomed the glamorous and multi-awarded star of world cinema to the Festival.

On the occasion of her most recent film, which will be screened at the Festival, George Krassakopoulos asked her…

This is not your first time in Thessaloniki, and your films have always been an integral part of the Festival. You are a truly hardworking actress and we thank you for your presence. Your most recent film, which is being screened in our tribute, is Thierry Cliff’s The Richest Woman in the World (2025). So I wonder if the dozens of films you have made over the years have made you feel richer?

Isabelle Hyppert: The films I have made make me feel complete. They also make me feel very privileged, for the opportunities I have had to play all these roles and work with all these great creators.

You played an active role in curating the tribute that the 66th edition hosts to her work. Tell us about this and the previous film in the tribute, Michael Cimino’s legendary The West Wing (1980)

It wasn’t a completely conscious process. I could have chosen other films, but I think this particular selection is a good overview, which includes many international directors. The filming of this film was a truly fantastic experience, where we spent seven months in Montana, USA. This film is equally known for its success and failure. It was a major box office failure: in particular, the New York Times called it “an unprecedented disaster”, from which the director never really recovered. During my career, I have thought about this film many times, having come to the conclusion that it is a creator’s film. It was a very personal film, with a harsh and sharp political commentary on its time. Perhaps today it would be more easily accepted.

How do you deal with failure and how much does it affect you?

Of course it affects me. We don’t make films to stay locked in a room, but to be seen by as many people as possible. Being accepted is inextricably linked to the nature of filmmaking. However, I am just an actress in the film and I cannot carry the entire burden of failure on my shoulders: I do not feel personally responsible for any failure.

What do you take away from each role you play?

Audiences often ask actors this question because they do not realize that filmmaking is about the present, which is automatically forgotten. The minute you deliver the performance, it has already happened and belongs to the past.

Regarding the demanding roles she has taken on…

I don’t think the roles I take on are demanding.The characters I play have complex aspects and controversial points. However, I don’t think these specific qualities make them unlikable. Maybe cinema once had clear distinctions between good and evil, but now these boundaries have begun to blur and are more indistinct.

Regarding her collaboration with her daughter, Lolita Sama, with whom she co-stars in the film Copacabana (2010) by Marc Fitoussi…It was a wonderful collaboration. My daughter is here with me because she loves the beautiful city of Thessaloniki as much as I do. Copacabana is a comedy with sharp angles, which upsets the balances of the mother-daughter relationship and comments in a smart and unexpected way on the generation gap.

On her collaboration with Hal Hartley in the film Amateur (1994)… Amateur is a fantastic film by a very talented director, which combines the spiritual depth of the Bible with the lightness of a cartoon, which came right after Trust (1990) and Ordinary People (1992).

If she feels like she has taken special risks in her career…I don’t think so, but I have indeed been outside my comfort zone many times. That has always been my idea of filmmaking: I liked making films abroad, far from my country. The first time I felt like a real actress was when I participated in the film The Heirs (1980) by Marta Mesáros from Hungary. I also made many films in Asia with Hong Sang-soo and with Brillante Mendoza. Filming abroad is always a fantastic experience, because you become part of an unknown and foreign territory. It’s awesome to be the personification of a director like Hong Sang-soo’s gaze in his own country.

Regarding the audience’s observation of how easy and natural the acting is in her performances, even in demanding roles like the philosophy professor in Mia Hansen-Lov’s The Future (2016)… It was never difficult for me to embody these characters. This particular film you mentioned was a wonderful film full of hope. The real difficulty in films is working with someone you don’t understand and don’t trust. That’s the key word in the actor-director relationship: the film must be based on mutual trust.

Regarding the representation of women in contemporary cinema… I see the situation as I saw it at the beginning of my career. I have always been lucky and privileged. I have always sought (and found) roles in which women have the central position, they are not hidden behind a man but are in the spotlight. Nowadays we have more and more women directors and more women in filmmaking in general. Compared to the past, we have certainly improved, but we can do better.

Regarding the director with whom she would like to have collaborated… Alfred Hitchcock and specifically the film Vertigo (1958).

Regarding the international nature of her career and the differences she can distinguish over time… I honestly do not see any difference. I approach the foreign with the same curiosity that I did at the beginning of my career. What has perhaps changed is the way the film product is consumed: we now have many ways to see films. But the best way, and the only way that should remain, is on the big screen. Any other experience is inferior and less valuable.

Regarding the roles that have been a turning point in her career… the important roles are those that provide the most exposure for an actor, such as Michael Haneke’s The Piano Teacher (2001) and Paul Verhoeven’s Her (2016), both of which are featured in the 66th festival’s tribute. The funny thing about these cases is that, many times, certain films become huge hits when you least expect them. This is a strong indication that films travel through the minds of different people in many different ways.

On whether there is enough mobilization from the film community regarding Gaza…there is never enough mobilization, as long as there is so much suffering in the world.

Closing the discussion, George Krassakopoulos asked…

Is there anything else, after such a dazzling career in cinema, that you are looking forward to?

There is nothing specific that I am looking forward to. I am always looking for the unknown. My career has truly been a dive into the unknown: it is

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