The three directors Chloë Sevigny is “really inspired by”
Whenever film enthusiasts discuss the landscape of American independent cinema, Chloë Sevigny will always be one of the first names to pop up in their heads. Known for her collaborations with Harmony Korine, Olivier Assayas and Lars von Trier, Sevigny has proven that she has the acting chops to compete with the best of them time and time again.
Starting out as a model, she soon entered the world of cinema in an unforgettable manner with an outing in Larry Clark’s horrifyingly bleak coming-of-age drama Kids. Her casting might have been a result of her friendship with Korine, whom she had met in Washington Square Park, but it was clear for everyone to see that she had what it takes to make it in the business.
Moving on from Kids to work with the likes of Steve Buscemi and Mary Harron, the latter of whom selected Sevigny for American Psycho, the actor steadily built up an impressive filmography while sticking to artistic subjects that fascinated her. While many people primarily associate her run in the indie realm with Vincent Gallo’s controversial movie, The Brown Bunny, Sevigny’s body of work has much more to offer.
In recent years, Sevigny has also directed a number of projects that are now seen as a perfect extension of her artistic interests. The 2016 short film Kitty, which marked her directorial debut, set the ball rolling for Sevigny, who had always wanted to take up the challenge. The surreal film follows a young girl’s transformation into a cat, exploring the protagonist’s turbulent emotions as she is suddenly locked out of her own life.
During a conversation with W, Sevigny explained: “It was something that I always wanted to do, but it seemed daunting, and I wasn’t sure if I would be good at it. I finally told myself that I just had to bite the bullet and try it! It was so fulfilling, and I loved overseeing every aspect—I’m kind of a control freak on set, to begin with, and being given that power felt very empowering.”
While Sevigny is obviously still discovering her identity as a filmmaker, she definitely has a set of auteurs she considers to be direct influences. When asked about it in the interview, the American artist clarified that she is specifically interested in movies directed by women because they capture an emotional range that can’t be found elsewhere.
Sevigny revealed: “No one in particular, but there are a lot of female directors who I am really inspired by, like the filmmakers Catherine Breillat, Jane Campion, and Claire Denis. I also think there is an emotion in female-directed films that I gravitate towards. There’s an intimacy with the actors that you can see come across the screen.”
Even though her own work is quite different from Denis’ fluid takes on genre filmmaking or Campion’s distinctive style, there’s a similarity in the artistic concerns that move her and the pioneers she cited as favourites.
