We recently connected with Céline Dondénaz and have shared our conversation below.

Céline, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Has your work ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized?

In fact, it’s mostly myself who has been misunderstood. Generally, it seems that there has often been a misunderstanding between me and the world. To cut to the chase, I consider myself an innate creative, specifically a natural storyteller. Secluded and serene in my bedroom, I’ve been sketching since I could first grasp a pencil. As a child, I focused on drawing faces, characters, and landscapes, eventually evolving to craft stories that sprang to life with each stroke of my pencil. At the age of 9-10, I expressed my desire to become a comic strip artist, but my parents dismissed it, apprehensive about the idea of me pursuing an artistic career. Consequently, the doors to a world that had previously comforted and inspired me abruptly closed. At home, dreams had no space; only toil to meet the dreary demands of a country lacking in boldness and often overshadowed by gray skies. Deprived of my calling, I spiraled into a rebellious state. By age 17, I had been entangled in a self-destructive cycle for several years, and my aspirations of becoming a cartoonist had long faded. While my creativity persisted, I was adrift, uncertain about my post-school path. My affection for drawing transformed into a fascination with photography. One day, after watching the film ‘Memoirs of a Geisha,’ I found myself saying, “I’d love to be able to do something like that.” That’s when a realization struck. I knew I wanted to be a film director, and despite the fear of parental disapproval, I pursued it ardently. With a reputable art school in the town where I was studying, my parents were reassured, and I enrolled. Swiftly selected for the film section, that marked the true commencement of my career.

Céline, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Born in Lausanne in 1991, I graduated from ECAL/University of Art and Design of Lausanne in the Visual Communication department, specializing in Filmmaking. As mentioned earlier, the pursuit of an artistic career was denied to me from a very young age, so I am convinced that I have been able to get there in the first place thanks to my rebellious and indomitable personality. Since 2017, I have been involved in writing and directing short films, currently in the process of developing my first feature film. My preferred themes revolve around the internal conflicts arising in childhood and adolescence, the dynamics of family units, and the political issues that stir rebellious feelings within me. I think it took some time for me to discover my path, but I firmly believe that my cinematic style will be simultaneously realistic, poetic, modern and caustic. Regardless, I fearlessly approach unsettling subjects that may potentially lead to the loss of friendships.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I believe my journey until now is one of resilience. Besides the initial struggle to persuade my parents to let me pursue an artistic career, I’ve encountered numerous obstacles that have tested my resolve repeatedly. Coming from a family devoid of artists, let alone filmmakers, it’s essential to recognize that the art world, like the broader world, can be elitist. Those with greater cultural, financial, and physical capital often fare better. Upon entering ECAL, I lacked the codes of cultural, artistic, and bourgeois circles. Consequently, expressing my ideas, making myself understood, and comprehending the classes proved challenging. During my years at the art school, although doing great in photography, I encountered more challenges in filmmaking and frequently questioned my legitimacy in this field. Doubt often crept in, and I questioned whether I would succeed. Yet again, my passionate, rebellious, and tenacious temperament prevailed. Just as I had rejected the framework imposed by my parents, I resisted being belittled, ignored the discouraging whispers in my head proclaiming “You’re not talented enough,” and brushed off condescending looks from colleagues and teachers. Sometimes, it worked. I was eminently proud of my diploma film, earning an excellent mark and even a distinction. However, upon leaving school, I had to embark on the journey of resilience anew. Although my graduation film, praised by my class jury, featured in a few festivals, they were relatively small. In 2021, while shooting a short film with the hoped-for funding, I gradually realized that the script had deviated from my initial vision due to various influences. Once again, I had to summon determination. Yet, I firmly believe that early and swift success bears the risk of fostering arrogance, greed, and a return to vanity. True success, in contrast, is an incremental process that imparts humility, dedication, resilience, and the value of hard work. In a world where understanding the significance of modesty and effort is crucial, we direly need individuals who embody these principles.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I’m not sure if I have a clear idea of what society could do better to support artists, but I believe I understand what it can do to support people in general, which would undoubtedly benefit artists as well. In my view, every individual possesses unique potential, yet current societal norms encourage people from a very young age not to explore the skills that make them distinctive but to find a job merely to cover their expenses. There is nothing more disheartening and demoralizing than facing this kind of future that appears already constrained on this earth. While acknowledging the material reality that must be considered, it should not be an ultimate goal. It is crucial for every human being to wake up in the morning and find meaning and excitement in their life’s direction.

Society should be structured around this principle rather than hyper-productivity, which is detrimental to everyone, leading to depression, illness, and environmental destruction. We must rethink a model that allows people to allocate time not only to meet their financial needs but also to pursue their passions. Returning to the domain of culture, there is an urgent need for increased investment. As mentioned earlier, the significance one attributes to life is paramount, but artists cannot sustain themselves solely on passion and basic necessities. A more equitable distribution of public funds is imperative. Also, banks could have a greater obligation to invest in culture for instance.

Art provides an avenue to convey essential aspects of life and propose alternative societal models. It is not surprising that under a dictatorship, governments control not only the media but also artistic expression.

So, to sum up, for individuals who may not necessarily be creatives, we need a society that encourages and provides means for their everyday lives to also be composed of wonders. For creatives all over the world, we specifically need a model that allows them to work intermittently and earn a living even in months when they haven’t secured projects or received salaries for their work. Therefore, reforms in the school system are needed, along with the organization of society around individual growth rather than the sole pursuit of economic goals. Less funding for highways and more investment in culture should be prioritized – food for the soul!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://celinedondenaz.wixsite.com/homepage
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/celinecelin__/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/c%C3%A9line-dond%C3%A9naz-6b7251105/

Image Credits
For the portrait : Angini Pai https://www.anginipai.com/