Juliette Binoche and Richard Gere discussed their film careers and experiences working with various directors in a press conference 1 December at the Sofitel Gezira Hotel in Cairo.

Egyptian actor Amr Waked introduced Binoche and asked journalists to keep their questions intelligent. Binoche then expressed her passion for ancient Egyptian culture. “When we learn about ancient Egyptian culture as 12-year-olds in France, we become very passionate about it,” she said. “The story of Isis is so powerful for any actress.”

Binoche, whose film Copie Conforme (Certified Copy) directed by Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami was screened at the Cairo Opera House on the same day, discussed what working with Kiarostami was like. The film takes place in Italy and follows an English man and a French woman who appear strangers at first. Events unravel hidden layers of their relationship. 

In an outstanding performance, Binoche evokes a wide range of emotions, from agony to longing to anger. “I always told him (Kiarostami) I want to be in one of his films, so he invited me to Iran,” she said. Binoche was afraid at first, but he assured her that Iran is not how it’s presented in the press. In their first meeting to discuss the film they found an understanding between one another. “We sat down as friends and talked about our lives,” she said during the press conference, “and I can share silence with him, which means a lot.”

In her long-standing acting career, Binoche has worked with great directors such as Jean-Luc Godard in his film Je Vous Salue Marie (Hail Mary), Krzysztof Kieslowski in Trios Couleurs: Bleu (Three Colours: Blue) and Michael Haneke in Caché (Hidden). Binoche said that a great director is one that leaves room for creativity and doesn’t try to control everything. “With the exception of Michael Haneke,” she added: “He’s great director, but a control freak.”

Binoche also said that sometimes a director’s vision is comprehensible only later when the film is made, like in Trois Couleurs: Bleu, a film about a woman who has lost her daughter and husband in a car accident and tries to overcome the loss by embracing freedom. In one scene Binoche disagreed with Kieslowski, insisting that after character heard in hospital of her loss she should cry. Kieslowski demanded that she shouldn’t. Binoche only came to understand his vision when she saw the film and realized how powerful it was not to cry.

Binoche’s future projects include a French film about student prostitution, in which she plays a journalist, a film with Olivier Assayas, and a documentary film about Upper Egypt. She is also planning to participate in a performance of Strindberg’s play Miss Julie.

Gere then entered with Ezzat Abou Auf and Egyptian actress Dalia El-Beheiry. When asked about what he thought of Chicago when he first got the script, Gere replied that he didn’t think much of it — he actually didn’t like it. Only two or three months later when he got the final script did he find it brilliant. “Everything you saw on the screen was in the script,” he said. The film was shot in 40 days but was rehearsed for two months prior to the shooting. “We knew our dance sequences so well that by the time we started shooting it all went smoothly,” he said.

Gere also talked about working with Kurosawa, who had insisted that he has a role only for him and nobody else in the whole world, the role of a Japanese American in Rhapsody in August. The character only appeared briefly in the film yet Kurosawa wanted him to stay for a month. “Kurosawa takes a lot time to shoot waiting for the perfect weather,” Gere said. After some negotiations Gere stayed for a week and a half but enjoyed the experience immensely.

He then recounted one of the most important moments of his life, when he received a phone call from the summer stock theatre at the Eugene O’Neil Centre after auditioning. He remembers the moment quite vividly, “I was in my dorm room when I got the call and my life changed from there.”

He said that being on stage again sounds exciting but he would never give up his evenings with his son for theatre, a statement that got him quite a grand round of applause.