Zoe Saldaña: ​​“We have to invest in stories by women and for women”

What was it like preparing the film's big musical numbers?

My rehearsals were very long and intense. I was finishing filming a series in North Africa and the shoot wrapped on March 2nd. I flew out the next day and on the 4th we were already in the recording studio. And from that moment until we started filming at the end of April I was constantly rehearsing, 5 or 6 days a week. I must confess that I was very nervous. It had been 20 years since I had been in a dance studio, so I had to adapt my brain to understand what I was doing and to pass information to my muscles. It is very technical. My goal was to be perfectly prepared for the start of filming. During the rehearsals with Jacques and Karla I realized that he expects you to be perfectly prepared, but at the same time to dare to try alternatives different from what is in the script. In order to discover things that may surprise us, you have to be very present in the scene. I found that this was the most stimulating place I could be as an artist, with a director who allowed me to collaborate. Let's say that in total we had between 5 and 7 weeks of rehearsals, which continued even when we were filming. All the time I was practicing the choreographies for 'Vaginoplasty' and 'The Evil'. I remember that two weeks after we started rehearsing they told us that we were going to film an amazing choreography, the one for 'The Evil', and they gave us another 8 weeks to prepare it. I realized that I would have needed to start preparing a few days before. And then Jacques would show up unexpectedly in the middle of our choreography rehearsals, and tell us that we had to change this and modify that. That we had to take away from here and add from there. There was always an element of surprise, but we had to be very present in the scene for that to happen. And at the same time, it was imperative that we were very prepared. Which is exactly the same as in the theater. It was undoubtedly a wonderful experience, but it was not easy for me at all, which is precisely what made it very special for me.

Do you feel that beyond the recognition you have received for your performance, the fact that this is a predominantly female cast has given the experience a special flavor?

The fact that we were recognized as a female cast was certainly as significant as the individual recognition. For many years I felt that my opportunities depended on me being the only woman in a cast. When you are young, you are not afraid of anything and you are even a little reckless, you feel that you are better than the others. It was an unconscious way of participating in a system that has been designed to keep women apart. Because if there is one thing that has been proven over time, it is that when women unite, they are unstoppable. There is nothing that we cannot heal. There is no mountain that we cannot climb, especially if it serves to save someone we love. We are altruistic by nature, we like to support others and when we are together, we love to celebrate. In that sense, I have to point out that I come from a family of women. We are three sisters and I was raised by my mother and grandmother. That is the world in which I feel most comfortable. When circumstances are different, I feel vulnerable. Working on this film helped me reinforce my belief that we need to invest in stories by and for women. In that sense, I applaud men like Jacques Audiard who understand the value we have and are not afraid to tell a female story. As a human species, I feel that we are increasingly willing to move in that direction. And that it should not be done as a favor, but by opening spaces and allowing that to be the path that our cinema and our industry follow.