Arnaud Guez looks back on the technical and aesthetic choices for "La Danse des renards" ("Dance of the Foxes"), by Valéry Carnoy

The film is shown in an almost square format, with a lot of grain texture. Did you shoot in 16mm ?

Arnaud Guez : When we started this project, Valéry wanted a fairly raw image, more so than in his previous films. An image where we might not be in complete control, especially in terms of camera work and lighting... Many of the films that inspired us were shot in 16mm, notably Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler (cinematography by Maryse Alberti), which we loved for its rough texture and raw look.
We were attracted by the idea of shooting on film, but we quickly realised that it wasn’t realistic in terms of budget, especially for a first feature film with so many non-professional actors. So we shot on Alexa Mini with Zeiss Standard lenses, trying to achieve a film-like look from the camera tests onwards. We then continued this work during colour grading with Thomas Bouffioulx, breaking up the definition and making sure the image never looked too smooth or sophisticated.

Tell me about the boarding school setting. The film is almost entirely shot in one location, with just a few breaths of fresh air in the countryside...

AG : I like location scouting, especially when you have time. It’s a moment when the film finally becomes concrete. You discover potential sets and the people who inhabit them with a documentary eye. You talk, you soak up the atmosphere. It’s a porous moment when reality can suddenly help you clarify what you want in the film. And that’s what happened here.
The choice of the boarding school was really important. It’s not far from a closed environment, and during the preparation, we thought of it as a character in the film. From the moment we read the script, we knew we needed a place that brought together very specific elements : a school that was a bit out of the way, close to the forest, with a run-down appearance... In one of the first scenes, the headmaster suggests to Camille (Samuel Kircher) that he continue his studies in a modern, better-equipped school. It had to be a "second-rate" sports boarding school.
With these guidelines in mind, we went location scouting and finally found this setting in the Belgian Ardennes. That’s where filming began. The rest was split between Brussels, for some sub-sets and the end of the film, which we wanted to be more urban, and Charleville-Mézières, for the boxing sequences.

You mentioned The Wrestler. Like Darren Aronofsky’s film, Dance of the Foxes was almost entirely shot with a handheld camera...

AG : Yes, indeed. From the outset, we had a very clear idea of the image we wanted to achieve, which we never really strayed from – except at the very end. The idea was to stay physically as close as possible to the actors, working mainly with short focal lengths : 24, 28, 32mm.
I tried the Easyrig during the rehearsals, but it smoothed out the camera movements too much for my taste. So I just kept the camera on my shoulder. I think the slightly raw feel of the filming suited the characters well.

Valéry sometimes said to me : “Don’t worry if you feel like you’re losing the shot, just go with it.” I think working this way led to a slightly more hybrid style... sometimes unexpected. But I always stuck to the idea that the image should remain discreet, that it should simply reflect the energy of the story and the characters, who already had plenty of that to spare !
For the end of the film, we wanted to mark a clear break. A camera on a tripod, more fixed, more distant, after having been at the heart of the action for over an hour.

What was the main challenge for you ?

AG : There were several, but one of the most important was to make the training and fight sequences as credible as possible. Boxing is a definetly a movie sport, it’s been filmed. We quickly realised that taking inspiration from classics like Raging Bull was a dead end. We never pretended to reinvent the genre. Even less so on my part, since I didn’t know much about it, except through the prism of cinema.
In preparation, I read quite a lot, particularly the work of Loïc Wacquant, who is a sociologist, photographer and former boxer. But above all, I watched a lot of junior boxing matches on YouTube, which Valéry commented on for me. I also attended the actors’ training sessions, often with a small camera in my hand.
For Samuel, it was a lot of hard work. He spent more than five months building muscle and learning the basics of boxing. The rest of the young cast were boxers, whom Valéry rehearsed and observed a lot. Once the group was formed, Valéry was able to incorporate their suggestions to enrich the characters, but also the choreography of the fights with their experience. On the other hand, once filming started, there was little room for improvisation...
Another challenge was portraying Camille’s pain – physical, but above all psychological. In the story, the injury marks a turning point : it heals, but becomes an inner pain that never leaves Camille. A kind of dull ache that permeates the entire film and reconfigures all the dynamics.
We initially considered expressing it through complex, recurring camera movements, like a visual mantra. But that quickly seemed too demonstrative. Valéry wanted to stick to a concrete style, without straying from our handheld, eye-level filming technique, which served as a kind of beacon. We discussed it a lot, both during preparation and on set, and I think it’s an aspect that also found its final form in the editing.

Let’s talk about the forest, the second location in the film. These scenes mark a clear break, with an almost fairy-tale quality. The childlike side of these young adults resurfaces...

AG : Yes, the forest is one of the only places where the boarding school residents can feel free. It’s where Camille and Yas each go to be alone, away from prying eyes and social pressure. I remember that during a location scout, we got to know a boy who showed us his refuge, a slightly hidden corner in the undergrowth away from the school. It was his place where he went to be alone. There was something about this encounter that resonated strangely with the film we were going to make.

But we never really discussed whether this part of the plot could be reflected differently in the film. Or at least consciously pushing it towards something more stylised. I think the mere presence of the foxes is enough to create this slightly strange, almost unreal shift. At the same time, it’s not that unexpected. For example, for people who live in Brussels like the director, it’s a city where, strangely enough, you can find yourself face to face with a fox at nightfall. Whether you’re used to it or not, you’re always fascinated by this animal.
That said, it’s true that in these scenes there’s a kind of break in the rhythm. The camera remains on the shoulder, but it’s much more stable. And above all, the characters are no longer in this kind of frenetic action dictated by their daily lives as teenagers and future high-level athletes. Suddenly, Camille stops and watches from a distance. This definitely brings a more mystical, or at least more introspective, aspect to the film. I think the editing and music complement this well.

The choice of a fox is strongly associated with children’s stories and fantasy...

AG : I would say that it’s an animal that is familiar and cute to children... and at the same time it’s a predator, a nuisance to adults. I think everyone can project their own personal feelings onto it.
In any case, these scenes were a real challenge for a small film like ours. We had two half-days with the trainer and the animal, so we had to prepare very carefully in advance. The set was pre-lit and completely fenced off to limit the area in which the fox could move around. On these shots, I’m often alone on set with Gilles, the gaffer, and the boom operator. Everything is done on camera, without any digital effects.
One of the most complicated shots to get was in the first sequence at the Meat Tree, where Camille and Matteo watch a fox jumping to catch pieces of meat hanging from ropes. The trainer had the idea of hiding a chicken neck inside one of the pieces to attract him. But even with that, it took a lot of patience.

What did you learn from your first film ?

AG : There’s obviously a lot... The first thing that comes to mind is all the work that went into the shoot, especially the collaboration we had with Yasmina Chavanne, the production designer. We were able to really think about the best way to use our three shooting blocks and manage the transitions between sets. We exchanged lots of images, files and ideas to come up with the visual identity of the sets. It took a lot of thought and was like a big puzzle to solve together !
The other thing I learned is that you should never give up. In the last few days of filming, Valéry and I went to visit a beautiful boxing gym that we had approved based solely on photos, due to time constraints. Of course, work had been done in the meantime : the layout had changed, the ring was too small and couldn’t be moved. The lighting had been replaced by powerful LEDs on the ceiling, which we had no control over. When I stepped into the ring, I started casting shadows on the extras. Basically, nothing was working, and we had to start shooting in that setting three days later.
While I was arguing with the production manager about the impossibility of shooting there, Valéry went to take a look at a neighbouring room, which we had passed by without really paying attention to it. It was a classic handball gym. And yet, very quickly, we decided that it was better. It also had these new LEDs, but they were better distributed. We just had to bring in a ring of the right size – which wasn’t easy – and accept the setting for what it was.

But I was still worried about the shadows, because I shoot very close to the actors, even during the fights. So we needed a practical toplight that would add height, eliminate shadows and allow me to shoot almost 360°. And we didn’t have the luxury of renting equipment for the occasion. I mentioned it to Jérémy, the gaffer, and Gilles, key grip, when I got back. They managed, with what they had in the truck, to move a frame above the ring, on which we hung some light sources.
In the end, it’s perhaps one of my favourite scenes. I don’t know if it’s for aesthetic reasons or simply because of the feeling of having come back from a long way.

In a sports boarding school, Camille, a talented young boxer, is saved from a fatal accident at the last minute by his best friend Matteo. While the doctors think he is cured, an unexplained pain gradually takes hold of him, until it calls into question his dreams of greatness.

(Interview conducted by François Reumont for the AFC)