Kate Winslet director of “Goodbye June” now on Netflix

Che At the age of 50, Kate Winslet decided to make her directorial debut It’s not that surprising. He’s been acting since he was 17, he has it under his belt seven Oscar nominations, one statuette for The Reader and a succession of memorable parts, whether large or small screen. When she appeared in her first role – it was Juliet in Heavenly Creatures/Creatures of the sky (1994) by Peter Jackson (she won out of 175 applicants) – Hollywood instantly understood that it would not be easy to ignore the talent of that beautiful teenager from Reading (the Berkshire town where she grew up) and opened its arms to her. Today the protagonist of Titanic, The Reader, Ammonite And Avatars remains one of the most esteemed and loved actresses by critics and the public. Everywhere.

She is active in numerous civil cases – supports LGBTQIA+ rights, helps people with autism, fights against inequality such as social injustices. And he never backs down from new challenges.

Goodbye JuneKate Winslet’s first film as director (on Netflix)

When her son Joe Anders, then in his early twenties (his real name is Alfie Winslet Mendes and was born from Kate’s second marriage to director Sam Mendes), shyly asked her to read one of her manuscripts inspired by her grandmother’s death, Kate was not only won over and moved. He considered it ideal for his directorial debut.Goodbye June (now on the Netflix platform) it is an authentic family novel.

Filmed with old collaborators and family friends in a hospital, it follows the last days of June (Helen Mirren), family matriarch and terminally ill patient, with her four children (Kate Winslet, Andrea Riseborough, Toni Collette and Johnny Flynn), a husband stunned by dementia and a brood of undisciplined grandchildren.

Interview with the actress and director

At the remote video interview, Kate Winslet shows up without makeup. She has an improvised pigtail and a black jacket: hers is not the look of a star. Lately, he typically wears strict trouser suits to interviews and public events. He does this to avoid “the obsession with the perfection of the female body”, a favorite subject on red carpets and gala events, and instead offer “a neutral figure”, he explains. She has not the slightest intention of hiding the wrinkles around her eyes: on the contrary, she is proud of them, just as she is proud of the years that pass and give charm and substance. She is smiling, friendly, supportive, open. She always has the enthusiasm of a neophyte and she can’t wait to talk about this film, of which she is the producer, director and actress (she is Julia, one of the three sisters).

Let’s start from the beginning.

The plot of Goodbye June: The true story of the death of Kate Winslet’s mother

Her son recounts the death of his beloved grandmother, which occurred during the Christmas holidays. She is the screenwriter’s mother. Isn’t it difficult to be impartial?
«Joe wanted to know what I thought, the work was incomplete, there were still about twenty pages missing. I wasn’t at all surprised to discover that he had written a screenplay: he has always been writing, ever since he was a child. When I read it, the characters immediately appeared strong and well-defined. The story is real, intimate and direct. Joe chose to set it during the Christmas period, always so chaotic and intense from an emotional point of view. I immediately understood that his writing had all the qualities of an excellent work.”

And so he decided to go behind the camera.
«And to do three jobs: I produce, I am the director and I act. I wasn’t sure I could do it, I had thought about finding another actress for the part of Julia, my character. There are many very good actresses around and perhaps they would be happy to play the part of Julia.”

So you started casting too?
«No casting. At that point I already had a group of brilliant actors and I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to act with them. I love actors, especially these actors. But directing myself? A leap into the dark. I don’t want to sound presumptuous or arrogant by saying this, but I’ve never done anything halfway in my life. And so, suddenly, I took this path.”

Protagonist, Helen Mirren

How do you approach your first direction?
«First I learned the script by heart, because I knew I would have to act in a very limited period of time. I had 35 days to make the film, Helen Mirren available for 16 days, and seven children to direct. I had to convince them that it would be a game (35 days long), make them feel at ease and instill confidence. I had to be ready for every eventuality, try out many scenes and shots, in order to have different options during the editing phase.”

And Helen Mirren?
«At the beginning, Helen found it difficult to immerse herself in this role. When I first approached her, she said, “Look, I have two rules. I never play a person with dementia, or a person dying of cancer. But I will read your script, Kate, because I want to support you as a female, first-time director, and the culture needs to change today.” I was moved even by the mere fact that she offered to read it. He read it and finally agreed: ‘To hell with my rules, I’ll do it for you’.”

The death of a mother: from reality to film

How did your son get this idea?
«When his grandmother, my mother, passed away in 2017, he was a teenager. He remembered with great clarity the reunion of our vast family, in those rather unusual and harsh circumstances. We all came from different parts of the world, just to be close to her, having a wonderful relationship with her. He then remembered with equal clarity the feeling of having thought: “My God, we are all here because we all descend from this woman”.

Goodbye June deals with the problem of the death of a parent. How did you relive this experience during filming?
«It was inevitable that, as a director, I would relive every moment of it. As much as I tried to keep things separate, I couldn’t, because I had been in those rooms, I had been in those exact same places. But it was extraordinary. On set I tried to address the issue very delicately: the loss of a mother is an inevitable step in life, but in our society we are not capable of talking about pain and death, they are still taboo topics. For me, the most surprising thing about this story is that it talks explicitly, without mincing words, about a family in a dramatic circumstance. The fact that the lines were written by my son, after my mother’s death, made everything even more intense.”

Humor, even in mourning

He chose humor to lighten the most dramatic or touching scenes.
«Laughing in painful situations really happens. It was important to also describe those singular, even funny moments that you happen to experience during a tragedy.”

Does the idea of ​​death scare you? Do you think about it often?
«No, I almost never think about it. And I don’t even know if I’m afraid of it. Perhaps I’m more worried about the thought of not being able to do everything I want to do in life (laughs). In fact, I remember talking to my mother about it in her last weeks, because I wondered if the idea of ​​death scared her. And she replied: “No, I’m not afraid, but I want to go on a sunny day.” And so it was.”