Vanessa de Largie impresses in A Nocturne

by Ton van Rooij

Vampire films exist in all sorts and conditions: traditional ones (Nosferatu, Dracula), action-packed ones (Blade, From Dusk Till Dawn), humoristic ones (The Fearless Vampire Killers, Dracula: Dead and Loving It), ethnically oriented ones (Blacula, Def by Temptation) and female ones (The Vampire Lovers, Ultraviolet), to mention only a few appearance forms.

The Australian film A Nocturne is one with a philosophical strain. It was screened last April at the 26^th Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film (BIFFF). There we put Vanessa de Largie, who impressively portrays the vampire `X’ in the film, through her paces. "X is very different to me."

Nietzschean Übermensches in A Nocturne

In A Nocturne, director Bill Mousoulis, of Greek descent and for more than 25 years active as an independent filmmaker, lays a link with the oeuvre of the German poet and philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900). Móre than merely blood suckers, the two protagonists, X and Z, are Nietzschean Übermensches, human beings of another kind. In A Nocturne, the vampire is a metaphor for existence. How do we live? How do we form our identities? Those are questions Mousoulis asks himself. In a large part of his work, the Australian examines the dark sides of the human psyche and his latest film is no exception to that.

X and Z (Vanessa de Largie and Alex Spears) form a vampire couple, living in an old warehouse in the centre of Melbourne. One night, they close a pact with the poet cum cannibal Seers (Patrick Boyle) and the Vietnamese vampire girl Vee (HaiHa Le). After a strange encounter with the mysterious Rola (Jennifer Levy), the `lifes’ of X and Z gradually start to change.

In September 2007, A Nocturne was awarded with no less than three prizes at the Melbourne Underground Film Festival: for best film, best lead actress (Vanessa de Largie) and best editing (Bill Mousoulis).

In the nearby future, the film can be seen, among others, at the 13^th Portobello Film Festival in London (28 August till 14 September 2008) and the 1^st Sexy International Film Festival in Paris (6 till 8 November 2008, with screening on the 6^th). The latter festival, an initiative of filmmaker Jason Turley, who is friends with Mousoulis, aims at films in which sex and relations play a prominent role. It is a touring happening, which kicks off from 2 till 7 September 2008 in Melbourne, a month later alights in Perth and in November calls at four cities: London, Paris, New York and San Francisco. See for more information www.anocturne.com.

Vanessa de Largie: creative centipede

Vanessa Anne de Largie was born on the 22^nd of March 1977 in Perth, Australia as youngest child of Val and Des de Largie, who at the time were already in their forties. She is the great-granddaughter of the Scottish-born Hugh de Largie (1859 - 1947), who as a Senator of the Labor Party for Western Australia accepted office in the first Australian parliament in 1901.

Vanessa de Largie is not only actress, but also screenwriter, author, poet, director and photographic model. From 1981 up to 1991, she attended singing, dancing and acting classes at the Johnny Young Talent School. In the years after that, she followed several acting courses and masterclasses. At 22 she jumped on a bus to Melbourne with the goal to pursue a career as an actress and writer. Eight months afterwards, her youngest brother died after a long battle with alcoholism and two months later her mother was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Over the next five years, she alternated her work with the care for her parents. After her parents had passed away, she intensified her activities in the acting and writing field. The name ValDes Creative under which she releases her own work is a tribute to her parents, who have always supported her in her choice of a profession.

Since 2002, she played in more than fifteen films, including four feature-length films. In addition to this, she appeared in six plays and carried out work for TV, radio and commercials. In 2007, for instance, she played in the trailer of the yet to be completed sci-fi film Scientia by Stephen Amis and the short slasher film Preamble by Christos Katsaros. A year earlier, she accounted for the script and female title role of both the film and the play Ted & Silver. On top of that, she took up the direction of the film version. She wrote two unpublished books: Don t Hit me (concerning domestic violence) and Tough Choice (concerning the pros and cons of abortion). Currently she works on the script for her first long film Cheyne, based on true events.

Low-budget approach

Her contact with Bill Mousoulis came about through someone else. De Largie: "I auditioned for a film of one of Bill’s friends, Jason Turley. I didn’t get into this film, but Jason said to Bill: `I think you might find Vanessa an interesting actress.’ Bill rang me, whereupon I auditioned for a film of his. It didn’t come to a participation, though, because my mom passed away in that period. When I was back in Melbourne again, he offered me the role of X for A Nocturne."

What attracted her most to her character and the film? "X is very different to me. She is very solemn, into herself, withdrawn. I am exactly the opposite. Therefore it really was a challenge for me to play that kind of character. And also, I’m a bit of a fan of the vampire genre. Furthermore, Bill has got an interesting, raw, very low-budget filmmaking technique. He’s all into máking films: just grabbing a camera and let’s go. What’s of the utmost importance to him, is creating a highest possible feeling of reality. He’s not keen at all on making a expensive blockbusters. A Nocturne only cost something like 2500 euro to make! That was possible because everyone worked for free on the film. All we got was food and beverage from the catering, ha ha!"

Reflection of reality

A Nocturne was for the Australian the first film in which she had to appear naked for the camera a number of times. The scene in which she lies down at full length after having assaulted someone, for instance, bears testimony to a great deal of courage. How did she handle this? "At a certain moment, I had to bend forward, and of that I was a bit afraid. But it wasn’t as bad as it seems, because it took place on a closed set. There were only six crew members, and those were all very good friends of mine. It was liberating, ha ha!"

Through the vampirism theme, Mousoulis shows his vision on the real world. De Largie knows exactly how he sees that. "Bill divides the world into artists and non-artists. On the one hand you have writers, actors, etc., who he considers as outsiders, and on the other hand office workers, who have a 9 to 5 job and live a controlled life. In the film, the vampires symbolize the artists. For they are outsiders, too."

What she thought was rather demanding were the rehearsals and shooting periods. Filming mostly took place from around 6 o’clock in the afternoon until 2 o’clock at night, during which it could get stone-cold. "But," she says, "it was fun going to Bill’s place afterwards and watching the rushes with all the other actors. I have enjoyed it very much, also because it was my first lead role in a feature film. And it got me here [to the BIFFF], ha ha!"

Her career has not yet taken on the proportions she has in mind. "When I arrived in Melbourne, I was 22 and expected by the age I have now to have made it as an actress. But because I haven’t acted much during the time I took care of my parents, it will take a few years longer before I’ll reach that point. But I’m determined to make up for it, ha ha!"