Family

A New York-style loft for a film director duo in the heart of Paris  

Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris

At

Lola Bessis, Ruben Amar and Ysé, 16 months old

We meet them at their home in Paris, where this cinematic duo is getting ready to present their latest co-directed film, Silver Star, selected for the Deauville American Film Festival this September. Lola Bessis and Ruben Amar are directors, screenwriters, and producers. Quite the package. With their short film Checkpoint (2010), shot at the Israeli-Palestinian border and selected at the Clermont-Ferrand festival, and their feature film Swim Little Fish Swim (2013) — the young woman's first — they have been making the rounds of festivals, around a hundred for the latter alone, travelling, settling in New York, and collecting enough footage to fuel a decade of future edits. And then, Lola acts. We saw her as Mélanie in Nicolas Bedos' Mr. and Mrs. Adelman (2017), or as Mademoiselle de Poitiers, a "French conversation" teacher, in the unsettling series Picnic at Hanging Rock (2018). And then? Paris. Lola grew up here but has seen too much of the world to confine herself to a Haussmannian building. Ruben, meanwhile, has experienced the quaint charm of large Occitan houses. Recently, a new actor has joined their daily life: Ysé, just over a year old, with laughing eyes. They've settled in the eastern part of Paris, in an apartment reminiscent of American lofts, where they constantly play with the partitions, adding, removing, and reshaping the boundaries and spaces—much like their approach to filmmaking, their desires, their needs. Or, to put it simply: in the very way they lead their lives.

Location

Paris

Author

Elsa Cau

Photos and videos

Valerio Geraci, Elsa David

Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris

Ysé, 16 months old, has made herself at home on the curves of our

Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris

Ysé, 16 months old, has made herself at home on the curves of our

Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris

Our

terracotta ceramic vase.

Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris

TSF

Lola, Ruben, who are you ?

Ruben

I'm Ruben.

TSF

Not the easiest question that!

Ruben

I'll start again (laughs). I've been with Lola for almost fifteen years. We have a 16-month old baby. I'm a director, screenwriter and film producer.

Lola

I'm an actress and director. We love travelling, we love bargain-hunting. Ruben and I largely define ourselves through film because right now, it's our job, but we've got plenty of other projects in the pipeline!

TSF

What are you up to right now?

Ruben

We recently wrapped up a film we shot in the US, Silver Star, that we premiered at the Deauville American Film Festival. We got a standing ovation and people even applauded during the screening, we were blown away!

Lola

This new film is an American road movie inspired by the 1970s New Hollywood movement. But it's nonetheless anchored in modern-day America. It's also a feminist film with two female protagonists who are a far cry from the archetypes you usually find in films.

Ruben

The film addresses the difficulties of today's United States. The two heroines feel let down by Trump's America, and the flaws in its judicial, police and social systems. 

Lola

But it's also a lively, colourful comedy, filled with hope. A feel-good film that lets you escape from all the doom and gloom. We shot it in deepest New Jersey and Kentucky, plus I was 7 months pregnant, just like the character in the film. I spent my time shut in the car boot with the sound engineer, my huge tummy and my co-star. Shoots sometimes take us to unlikely places, and conditions can be tricky when you've got a child, not to mention the abnormal working hours.

Ruben

We've still got lots of film projects in the offing, but also want to develop a project that links in with our life as new parents.

Lola

We've often wondered why there's so little support for new parents. And yet so many people have been there and can share their experiences. Plus, we don't all want to just rely on advice from our parents or grandparents. They often offer lots of advice, but it can be unsolicited or outdated (laughs).

TSF

So, you're after a different lifestyle now you've had a child.

Ruben

We'd like to spend more time with him. He's growing up so quickly, we don't want to miss out on anything!

Lola

I had to go back to work after giving birth as we started editing the film. It was a really busy time, difficult, intense. We didn't realise how physically tiring it would be. I had bags of energy during my pregnancy. I didn't think that would change, but... Quite the opposite. After such a hectic time, we wanted to take some time for ourselves, to combine our working lives with looking after our son. In any case, it was a huge upheaval on all levels. We didn't realise because we'd always heard about directors' kids always being on set...

TSF

You've travelled a lot and lived abroad together.

Ruben

Yeah, in New York, Los Angeles, London

Lola

We met in Tunisia I was about to go on an Erasmus film course in London. The following year we shot Checkpoint together, a short film set on the Israeli-Palestinian border which indirectly addressed the conflict. Right after that, we went to live in New York where we shot our first full-length film, Swim Little Fish Swim. We also lived in Australia for three months where I acted in the series Picnic At Hanging rock.

TSF

Where would you like to live?

Lola

We're pretty restless. When we're not in Paris, we miss Paris But we loved New York. And Melbourne was superb too. But it's too far away from our families. Whatever happens, we know we'll travel again. We also think it's important as it will help educate our son!

Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris

Around the wooden dining table, the couple has placed Marcel Breuer chairs, carefully sourced by them.

Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris

Around the wooden dining table, the couple has placed Marcel Breuer chairs, carefully sourced by them.

Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris

TSF

What are your individual backgrounds?

Ruben

I started off at business school but quickly got bored. Later on, at the end of the nineties, I helped create the first major French websites. I then launched an online trading start-up that was later sold to Vivendi. Before I felt the need to return to my first passion - film. So I went to study in London and short short films in London and New York, just before I met Lola.

Lola

I get the impression that many people working in film from our generation started out doing something else, invariably so they had a backup plan in case things didn't work out. I started out studying literature after secondary school with an option in maths - because I didn't really know what direction to take (laughs). I then found a preparatory course in film, but in Lille because in Paris everyone expected me to have a first-year in film studies. Following that I went on an Erasmus scheme to London to get the practical experience I needed. When I met Ruben,  he told me about  schools in the USA that offered fast-track courses which were practical as they weren't degrees - you could pick and choose the courses. So I took a year out to take highly-technical courses in New York. At the same time, we did the film festival tour with Checkpoint, our short film and watched lots of independent American films that were shot on a shoestring. We also met loads of film crews and actors. And subsequently asked ourselves "Why don't we take the plunge?". One morning, Ruben said to me, "C'mon, let's go for it, let's make a full-length film". And so we did! We had three months left in New York!Because we knew I had to get back to Paris to finish my studies. We shot in our flat, the city, we knocked on doors to find people who wanted to take part. The idea was to fully involve the actors in the creative process, which included a lot of improvisation. And I took part which launched my acting career, which wasn't something I'd previously factored in. And that's how I ended up in an Australian series and independent films in New York and Paris.

Ruben

There are lots of well-known directors who do the same thing as us, like Sean Baker who's just won the Palme d'or as well as the Safdie brothers.

Lola

Lena Dunham too, before she hit the big time with the series Girls. It's how it seems to work. Doing this and that when you have great ideas but no funding.

Ruben

But lots of things changed between our first and second American films. The arrival of Netflix and other studios was a game-changer: everyone had work, and there were lots of series and productions. So there was a lack of manpower when filming small, independent films The DIY approach was gradually disappearing.

TSF

Is funding different when you work in France or abroad?

Lola

In France we're lucky to have - for the time being - a fantastic funding system thanks to public channels, the French CNC, and regional help. You won't find this in the USA, where there's only private funding and virtually no distribution chain. The downside in France is that sorting out funding takes a lot of time. You need to prepare lengthy applications. The applications are put to a jury several times, meaning the scenario may no longer be relevant or in tune with what we want to say, there's less spontaneity. The other problem with the French film industry is that it's a small world, everyone knows each other, and it's all very insider.Right now, there's a lot of talk about sexual and gender-based violence, but we haven't yet reached the stage where we can speak out about psychological harassment and abuse of power. 

Ruben

It's often a David and Goliath scenario, people are too scared to talk in case they lose work - just like victims of sexual violence. There's a code of silence, and power play. You need to surround yourself with good people, build a professional family.

TSF

You co-run a production company.

Ruben

Yes, Les Films de la Fusée. We produce lots of films for other directors and quite a lot of ads in the USA.

TSF

What sort of environment did you both grow up in and how did it influence your taste?

Ruben

I grew up in the south of France. My mother's from Tunisia and my father from Morocco, and they met in Montpellier. So we're very much a Mediterranean family!

Lola

When I met Ruben, he'd left Montpellier but his mother and grandmother still lived in their lovely family flat! I remember the old-fashion bathtubs.

Ruben

It was typical of the decadent interiors of big, penniless families: large and all living under one roof surrounded by castle-style wall hangings. It was a very... cinematic decor! So I grew up in an interior decorated with everything my grandmother had brought over from Tunisia. She often scoured antique shops, she loved 18th-century furniture. In a nutshell, it was a very eclectic interior.

Lola

The flat was sold when your grandmother passed away. It was a shame as no one wanted to deal with all the furniture and objects. Some time later, it caught fire. When there'd never been a problem in fifty years...

Ruben

It was as if it was all meant to go up in smoke.

Lola

As for me, I grew up in Paris. I moved to Lille when I was 19. Also, my parents split up. I come from a Tunisian and Italian background. Plus part of my family moved back to Italy. Which is where my love of good food comes from! (Laughs) My maternal grandfather was a lover of all fine things, and we were very close. You could say an artist at heart. In the 80s, before I was born, he had a furniture shop that sold 1950s pieces, which wasn't à la mode back then. It was ahead of its time, so it didn't do well. He had quite a fanciful life. He came from a big but impoverished Italian family that lived in Tunisia. My maternal grandmother was also from a very poor Italian family. She went to the school prom in a dress her mother made from curtains because they couldn't afford to buy one. And that was where she met my grandfather who told her she looked awful! (Laughs) Go figure, the moment he said that, she told herself he'd end up marrying her and that's exactly what happened.

Ruben

You haven't described your father's flat, which is important as he's spent 50 years living in empty flats surrounded by piled-up cardboard boxes. Nothing, except for a lovely leather armchair.

Lola

Since he grew up in Tunisia and arrived in Paris after his baccalaureate, he fantasized a bit about that side of Paris, about Saint-Germain. And he's always lived like that. Actually, he's now got a new flat that he wants me to furnish. Because he wants to, but just isn't capable! It's a project close to my heart, I've done it for several friends. Maybe one day I'll turn it into a job...

TSF

Tell us about the story of this flat.

Lola

We'd just got back from New York. We didn't want a typical Parisian Haussmann-style flat; we had that before in Paris. We wanted a lot of space and light, like a loft.

Ruben

But it didn't look at all like this when we arrived! It needed a lot of work. At the same time, the lack of load-bearing walls meant we could do what we liked...

Lola

The previous owners were a couple with two kids. They had three bedrooms with mezzanines everywhere and a small raised TV room. The walls were fuchsia and orange. A long corridor also took up loads of space. The beams were hidden. The brickwork too. But oddly enough we fell for it. Sunlight poured it, it was lovely and bright. I thought he'd hate it. But he felt the same as me. We got downstairs, looked at each other and quickly went back up and made an offer. We'd already seen three or four flats, some of which we missed out on. So we said that if we liked this one, we needed to go for it. After that, we decided to start with a blank canvas and carry out major works.  Before doing any work, we camped here to get a feel for the place and imagine what we could do. We marked out the partition walls on the floor.

Ruben

And then it just evolved. 16 months ago, we didn't have a bedroom for our son. It was open-plan, there was nothing there. It was part of the living room, a little office area. We had a glass divider designed, and we finished the work just before he was born!

TSF

What sort of decor did you want to have, what sort of ambience in your home?

Lola

We thought about it a lot. In our old flat, we had very 50s and 60s look. Here we wanted more of a 20s-30s look, an Art Deco style. And soothing pastel colours. We love the industrial feel, which you can see in the metal beams and brick wall, but we wanted to add warmth with wood and more “country house” elements, like the farm table, workbench and old paintings. We like to mix genres and eras, and push the boundaries.

TSF

Do you both bargain-hunt?

Lola

Yes in French second-hand shops and when we travel, and from Selency too. We love it, but we've stopped for now as we've got too much stuff. We increasingly feel the need to declutter, to just keep the basics. And go for neutral colours.

Ruben

Like our white sofa. Which is fine just as it is!

Lola

We had cushions on it before. In the end, I felt it looked better on its own. And there've been changes since our baby arrived. Meaning we didn't have any pictures up, they were all leaning against the walls. Plus we've had different ideas emerge, perhaps more design pieces, travertine tiling, less wood... We're going to change our bedroom, use lime plaster, something more mineral. Which would fit in with the bathroom's polished concrete, for example. We designed everything, the worktop, the storage... and, notably, the recesses around the flat, the integrated laundry baskets with shell handles set into the base of the raised bath. One for dirty washing, one for stuff to be ironed. It's a bit OCD, I know... My dream right now is to have a separate laundry room where I can dry stuff. Now we've got a baby we do a lot of washing (laughs).

Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Chez Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris

In the master bedroom, our

and

cushions bring the bed to life.

Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris

At the foot of the bed, our

adds the finishing touch to the decor.

Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris

In the master bedroom, our

and

cushions bring the bed to life.

Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris

At the foot of the bed, our

adds the finishing touch to the decor.

Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris

We love hunting for vintage finds, but more and more, we're drawn to a simpler, more refined aesthetic—soft, neutral tones and fewer objects. The arrival of the baby has also reshaped how we see our home.

Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris

TSF

Did you call on any architects?

Lola

We did meet with architects but quickly realised we'd rather draw up the plans ourselves as no one knows our needs and tastes better than us. In the end, we did it all ourselves.

Ruben

Plus we worked a lot on the decor side of our films, so we knew what we were doing.

Lola

We made a lot of drawings. I remember we photocopied an empty plan and then cut out little rooms that we'd apply and move around to change the layout.  This was another reason why we didn't use an architect as we'd have to proceed quickly and make rushed decisions to keep within a timeframe. We needed some time, to imagine ourselves here, to get to know the place, its personality, and to decide on all the little finishing touches, the light switches, the handles on the cupboards... We wanted to have time to bargain-hunt and not buy any old things.

TSF

What's your lifestyle like here?

Lola

We're homebodies, we love having friends over. Personally, I love cooking.

TSF

What places in the area do you recommend?

Lola & Ruben

Mardi Café a very child-friendly coffee shop where you can enjoy excellent lattes and delicious kanelbullar all in very cool Japanese-Danish ambience. The Milligramme bakery: everything here is as tasty as it is beautiful, with special mention to the wholemeal Japanese bread and the brioches... Itadakizen, a hidden away entirely vegan restaurant in Paris that will whisk you off to Japan as soon as you step through the door! Chi's Vietfood for home-style Vietnamese cuisine: excellent Bánh mì, and most of all, the surprise Phô that you can only order once a month after signing up for the boss's secret list... Belleville market, multicultural, with wonderful smells, from Moroccan spices to exotic Asian fruit. And then round off the morning with couscous or Phô for lunch in the area.

TSF

What do you think of The Socialite Family?

Lola & Ruben

We closely follow the brand and its media and are continually impressed by its ability to reinvent itself and set new trends, while retaining its strong sense of identity. The feature stories are always inspiring - we feel like flies on the walls of the homes visited.

TSF

Do you have a favourite piece from our collection?

Lola & Ruben

For starters, the

with its clean, timeless lines; we loved it the moment we saw it. We really like the new colours and prints even though we opted for a white bouclé wool. We also love the

which goes perfectly with our Breuer Cesca chairs. We're also fans of the

which unfortunately isn't the right size for our XXL bed - so we're making the most of this interview to drop the The Socialite Family's designers a massive hint!

Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
Lola Bessis et Ruben Amar à Paris
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