Kathryn Morris UK

One week ago today there was a screening of the short film The Coin at the Champs-Élysées Film Festival in Paris, France.  It probably didn’t escape your notice as we mentioned it here on KM UK once, or twice, or three times as the date approached.

Fortunately for readers of KM UK we hit the perfect storm for site regular Diane.  She’s an acting student (as in a student of the craft of acting and not someone pretending to be a student ), a Kathryn Morris fan, and a resident of the city of Paris.  Immediately Diane generously offered give us an insight into her experience in only the second of our new Fan Experience category of posts.  What could I do but gratefully accept.  A day later she sent me the text below.  Many thanks to Diane.

By Diane

Champs-Élysées Film Festival, Paris, France – June 2014

As you know, The Coin, Fabien Martorell’s short movie starring Kathryn, was shown at the Champs-Élysées Film Festival last night. And since I live in Paris, I wouldn’t have missed that for the world.  So I was there.  Let me tell you about it.  Oh and please, forgive my English.

The festival, as its name indicates, is set in the Champs-Élysées avenue.  Actually there are several movie theatres all along the avenue, and the movies of the festival are dispatched between them.  But the one that interested me yesterday is all the way down the avenue.  It’s called MK2 Grand Palais.  MK2 is a chain of movie theatres in Paris.  This on isn’t an ordinary one, though, because it’s actually one cinema room inside the Grand Palais, which is a monument that was built for the Universal Exhibition in 1900, and also a museum now.  And it’s right across the street from the famous Alexandre III bridge, which is often referred to as the most beautiful bridge in Paris.

The screening, which included 6 short movies, started at 8:45.  I arrived a bit earlier, and people gave us a little paper with the title of each movie and a tiny square in front of it so we could vote after the screening.  Do I even need to mention I already knew which one I would vote for?  I was surprised by the size of the room, it was very small for a movie theatre.  I couldn’t refrain myself from looking at every person that entered, the inner wish of a dreamy girl maybe. And a few people actually entered, too few.  Before the screening started, someone made a little introductory speech, and explain there would be no directors (contrary to what was clearly written on the papers) but a writer of one of the movies called…  The Coin.

Then the screening started.  First movie, second, third, fourth, then the fifth movie started.  As I was seing the first pictures, a big city at night, I remember thinking “I don’t know which one it is but I already Like it” after that I saw Christopher Lloyd’s name and figured out it was The Coin.  I was so Happy to see Kathryn on screen, it had been long since the last time – when I watched The Sweeter Side of Life via Skype actually, almost, oh wow, a year and a half ago – way too long, because sadly they don’t rerun Cold Case here (but they rererererun WAT…).  And as each time I see her on screen, I was smiling and not thinking about my troubles.

It was quite surprising to see her as this sad, exhausted, and quite mean mother, because even though I’ve never been lucky enough to meet her, I can tell she is a very nice person, not like that at all.  The movie went by too fast, it lasted 15 minutes but to me it seemed like 5 minutes!   I liked the movie. And not only because Kathryn is in it.  I found the story touching.  You know, it often happened to me to wonder, after having seen a short movie “ok…what was it supposed to mean?” and miss what it was about.  It wasn’t the case there.  After you’ve seen the movie, you want to know more about this mother, how and why she is where she is at now in her life, which she doesn’t seen happy about, since she unloads her anger, her sadness, her frustration, on the only thing that’s there, her child.  That’s a situation I’m quite familiar with.  You feel for that woman, in some way though you disaprove of her behaviour towards her son.  You feel for that adorable little boy too.  You wonder what’s gonna happen to her, to her relationship with her son if the situation between them doesn’t get better.  And this homeless man, played by Christopher Lloyd arrives there like an angel, giving the kid some hope with the coin.  All that in 15 minutes!!  So it was my favorite. It was also, to my surprise, the only one without french subtitles, which wasn’t problem for me but may have been one for some people.

Then the lights went on.  It seems that a movie called “Amma” went missing in action because there were only five movie out of six. But they didn’t say anything about it.   A Man stood up, and said that contrary to what had been said, he was a writer, not on The Coin but on the long movie that will be adapted from it.  Wait Wait Wait, what did you just say?!  “That’s cool” I thought.  Then he added it will be with the same team and actors.  “That’s awesome!”, I thought.   As I went out of the room, I saw him and a few people around asking questions, so I came and asked again about the long movie – yes I lack self-confidence, even on my own ears lol – and he confirmed: same actors, which means our dear Kathryn.  Also I wondered about when the movie will be in theatres, to which he answered they hope it will be for 2015, and they hope it will come to France.  Oh me too.  I’ll be the first one to get my ticket and go watch it.

Then I left, and actually I wondered why I didn’t stay talking. Shyness maybe.  I still haven’t met Kathryn, but I really hope I will because it’s my dream, and if there’s one thing I never give up on, it’s dreams.

Thank you to Diane for making the effort to do that for us.

If you want to contribute a piece about anything Kathryn-related for publishing on KM UK then please contact me.