When studying cinema, we so often discuss the work from the point-of-view of the director, writer, or the actors on screen. French artist Hélène Louvart has been the cinematographer on many excellent pictures for over thirty years, with modern examples including The Lost Daughter, Never Rarely Sometimes Always and La Chimera. Her new film Nezouh is a beautifully told magical-realism drama, and it is written and directed by Soudade Kaadan. The Syria-based story centres around a young girl called Zeina (Hala Zein) who must decide whether or not to flee her hometown after a bomb attack almost completely destroys their house.  I was lucky enough to sit down with Hélène to discuss this piece as well as her craft in general.

Nezouh takes a very different look at the Syrian war-torn landscape as the story is told through the perspective of young Zeina. How did you approach illustrating this in the style of the film?

You know, it was the point of view of the girl, but it’s a mix between her gaze and also the point of view, in the storytelling of course, from Soudade [Kaadan, the director]. We are not doing a documentary, but it is important to understand the context for the girl. If it was only her point of view perhaps it would be slightly too naive so it was a mix with Soudade as she knows exactly the situation. She left there, her parents are still there. For her it’s not a dream, it’s a reality but in the girl’s point of view she brought some magic moments.