2024-07-17 11:30:26
At Cannes, Karla Sofía Gascón won the Best Actress award for her role in Emilia Perez. Absolutely sublime in Jacques Audiard’s musical comedy, co-produced by Saint Laurent Productions, she captivated film buffs and made old, rancid France howl.
” How are you ? “ When Hurricane Karla Sofía Gascón makes landfall in Technikart At the beginning of June, it was part of two days of express promotion in Paris for Emilia Perezthe magnificent musical comedy by Jacques Audiard. She arrives from a meeting with Rachida Dati (“my number one fan”), hugs the whole team copiously, and falls into the arms of her director, Jacques Audiard, whom she calls « Yack ».
Before her Best Actress Award (collective) at Cannes, Karla Sofía Gascón was completely unknown in France, while the Spanish public adores her. Born in Madrid in 1972, she realized at a very young age that she was a trans woman. “I wanted to make this change since I was 4 years old, but I was born in a country that had just emerged from dictatorship, where this kind of thing was not conceivable, not even imaginable.” Wanting to be an actress, she appeared in the late 1980s in commercials and B series. She played in a TV movie, a series for the BBC, telenovelas broadcast throughout Latin America. In Mexico, in 2013, she made a triumph in comedy We the noble (2013).
In 2018, Karla is 46 years old. She decides to make her coming-out trans, and publishes the book Karsia, an extraordinary storyinspired by her transition. She takes part in the local MasterChef, becomes an icon, before her prize at Cannes where she will declare, in tears: “I dedicate this award to all trans people who suffer and have suffered so much. I want these people to be able to believe, as in Emilia Perez, that there is always room for improvement, that everyone can become a better person. So, all of you who have made us suffer, it is time for you to change too, bastards. »
PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR_
In Emilia Pérez, Karla Sofía sings, dances (a little) and plays a double role as a bad Mexican narco and a woman full of humanity.
I cried twice this year in Cannes. The first time when I saw you in Emily Perezthe second during your speech for the interpretation award. Karla Sofía Gascón: Thank you so much my dear. It is more important to me that you cried than the applause at the award.
Are you from Andalusia?
My parents are from Cordoba, I am almost Andalusian. There is an olive tree at my house, in homage to Andalusia.
Tell me regarding your beginnings.
I was lucky or unlucky enough to start very young, at 16, with jobs as an extra, where I held a halberd, sometimes with a very short text. I learned a lot by shooting these films, these shows, these plays… I didn’t go to school because my parents didn’t have any money, but above all, I made the mistake of trying to please people, by copying, by taking inspiration from others. It took me a long time to find my way, my acting and to find myself. I worked for the BBC, in London, on a very beautiful series, Isabelthen in Italy, on Canale 5 and RAI, I worked with a puppet who did rap, a job that I loved.
Then there’s the departure to Mexico with your wife and daughter, and the success of the film. We the nobles.
I really fell in love with Mexico but it wasn’t mutual. I was regarding to go back to Spain because it wasn’t working out for me at all. I was in tears in a taxi and I got a call offering me a role as a gypsy in a telenovela called Wild Heart (Wild Heart). I loved that role because I was riding horses, fighting, a real tough guy role, very far from me. Then I had a series of successes until We the nobleswhich broke all box office records in Mexico. I played the bad guy and I loved it so much…
How long did you stay in Mexico?
About fifteen years, and I’m still going back and forth. After my transition, the first role I had was in a Mexican series, Rebelfor Netflix, in which I shot two seasons. In terms of my transition, in 2018, I figured it was now or never. I had achieved my career goals, I had my daughter, I had written a book, I figured I had to do it now or I would never do it. I took the risk of burying my career, I went through a very dark period, but everything is starting to clear up.
Regarding this transition, you speak of a “huge mess”, you mention harassment and even death threats… How did you survive this outpouring of hatred?
My dearI received death threats just for existing… But I am truly a person who does not let myself be pushed around, I refuse to be taken down or influenced. At first, I tried to show the haters that they were wrong, but I realized that no matter what I said, it was useless, they always said that trans people were dangerous to children, that people were scared in the toilets, that women athletes’ awards in sports competitions were stolen… These reproaches, this hatred towards trans people, I decided to make them my fuel, my Super 98: the more I was put down, the more I grew, the more I was criticized, the stronger I became. With the prize at Cannes, I am even happier to have become the target of more and more malicious people, I have filled up with fuel for a good while. I will be even stronger than before.
This outpouring of hate on Twitter is simply mind-boggling.
We, trans people, are the new scapegoats. Before, it was people of color, women, gays. I managed to overcome the obstacles in my path. It wasn’t always easy for me, I even almost committed suicide, I received so much hate, I mightn’t take it anymore. At one point, I thought I would no longer work, and that all I would have left would be prostitution, a profession to which trans people are always reduced. My second book, the novel Garcia, an extraordinary story was a catharsis. I realized that there were many positive things in my life and the calm returned following the storm. I had to, once once more, surpass everything I had done before.
READY FOR BATTLE_
Following Marion Maréchal Le Pen’s transphobic remarks, Karla Sofía filed a complaint for sexist outrage. “We must put an end to this kind of remark.”
Avant Emilia Perezdid you know Jacques Audiard?
I knew a little regarding Jacques’ films, in particular The Sisters Brothersbut I didn’t realize how important he was. He’s talented, respectful, and a huge filmmaker. We had a wonderful collaboration and I confided in him some very intimate things regarding myself. Jacques gave me a lot of freedom, creativity, and I was able to get involved in every step of the film! Very intelligently, Jacques takes the best in his collaborators and integrates it into the film.
I understand he didn’t want you to play the early narco with the face tattoos and gold razors before his transition.
No, Jacques didn’t want me to play Manitas and I mightn’t convince him. We did a lot of tests, his appearance evolved a lot during the preparation of the film. And Jacques of course chose the most monstrous appearance. But I was interested, I wanted to tackle the male character, his conflicts, his flaws, his difficulties…
Do you recognize yourself in the phrase from the film pronounced by your character: “ Love me as I am» ?
Yes! 100%!
For you, it’s the film of all challenges: you sing when you barely knew how to do it, you dance a little, even if you said you “move like RoboCop”, you had to master the Mexican accent.
I was very scared at first because I am not comfortable singing or dancing. So I said a little prayer to the Virgin. But everyone had a different conception of the film. Damien [Jalet]the choreographer, wanted everything to go through movement. Camille, who gave me singing lessons, wanted singing to be predominant. And I wanted to pull everything towards comedy, I wanted to do a remix of Mr Bean and everyone burst out laughing when I was on screen… Jacques harmonized everything, offered beautiful dance numbers to Zoe, who is, unlike me, an excellent dancer.
“I HAVE MY PRIZE, NOBODY CAN TAKE IT AWAY FROM ME.”
At Cannes, you won the Best Actor award. Did you understand that it was a collective award?
Honestly, I didn’t realize it was a collective award for Zoe Saldana, Adriana Paz, Selena Gomez, and me. (laughs). But I paid tribute to them. I am very happy for us, we deserve these awards, and I have my award, the first for a trans actress, and no one can take that away from me.
Since then, the haters have once once more gone wild on social media. Marion Maréchal Le Pen even said that you had taken a woman’s award…
It’s always the same, I knew I was going to receive torrents of hate following this award and my speech. But if I have to face hostility, I also receive a lot of support. There is a beautiful fight between darkness and light. And I am ready to fight, I will not let it happen. Six LGBT+ rights associations have decided to file a joint complaint once morest Marion Maréchal Le Pen, following her transphobic message on X (“So it is a man who receives the prize for best actress at Cannes. Progress for the left is the erasure of women and mothers”). These NGOs asked me to join them so that this would have more weight. And we filed a complaint for “sexist outrage”. But you know, this morning I met a young trans woman who hugged me and thanked me for what I had done. (suddenly, his voice breaks, a tear runs down his cheek, editor’s note). And that is much more important than the little Le Pens, hiding behind their keyboards. They can go fuck themselves!
Emilia Perez by Jacques Audiard
Released August 21st
Interview with Marc Godin
Photos Axel Vanhessche
1721233485
#Karla #Sofía #Gascón #Love
