It was while filming There is a Magnificent Sky and you filmed Angèle Bertrand, her first self-produced short film, that Justine Harbonnier met Caiti Lord, who appeared as a secondary character. Presented as a world premiere at MoMA in New York in 2014, the film pleased the public, visibly touched by the young woman who was not at the heart of the story.
“Spectators came to see her after the screening even though she didn’t appear that much in the film, and it really touched and marked me,” says the director. A beautiful friendship continues between the two women, despite a certain distance. And a few years later, Donald Trump was elected president of the United States.
A genesis that sets the tone. Caiti Blues is a political decryption disguised as a poem. It is the hopeful complaint of an entire generation in search of meaning. In Madrid, an American city “built on anti-system values,” reactions are mixed, according to Caiti Lord, who works in a cabaret-style bar there and does community radio there weekly. Some are busy ahead of the election of the new president, while others stopped believing in the system a long time ago, anyway.
Divided into chapters corresponding to song lyrics written by Caiti, the documentary focuses on her passion for music and her visceral need to sing. A former rising star in musical theater, she saw her dreams hampered by the difficult transition to adult life.
The omnipresence of the queer community, the vitality of the artistic scene and the strong feeling of being able to be oneself pushed Caiti to be generously involved in her city. This is undoubtedly one of the keys that allowed Justine Harbonnier to film so closely the host of colorful characters appearing in the feature film.
In the background, the desert landscapes and western atmospheres of New Mexico, which sometimes seem to be the work of painters because they are so captivating. Images that perfectly illustrate the themes of the precariousness of everyday life and the stifling feeling of arriving at 30 and not seeing a viable future.
“Many people who saw the film told me that it made them feel less alone and that they recognized themselves in the issues facing our generation in today’s world,” says Caiti. The bottom line is that there is hope in holding on to the things you love. If things go south, you still have your art. »
Justine Harbonnier looks at her protagonist with admiration. She could not have known how to describe her film better. “That’s so well said. The world sucks, but we still have this. I thought of the film as the trajectory of a transforming melancholy. »
