Malibu High graduate makes film for younger generation.
By Melonie Magruder / Special to The Malibu Times
Director Anne-Sophie Dutoit is hard at work editing her self-penned first feature, “Faded Memories,” having scooped up a slew of awards for her first short film “Marked” this year. Describing the director of her latest feature film, producer Sophie Boucher said: “Some say she is another Sofia Coppola. She sees herself as an instrument, a way to bring out communication. And she wants to make a difference with her art.
“People have their eye on her,” Boucher continued. “There’s a lot riding on this film because Anne-Sophie wanted to prove that she can act and direct at the same time.”
To take on the duties of writing, directing and starring in one’s first feature might seem like gluttony for punishment. Particularly considering her age: Dutoit’s 17th birthday is a couple of days before Christmas.
“Listen, you can be 15 or 50. Age shouldn’t be something to stop you,” Dutoit said in a telephone interview.
However, the fact that she is so young has generated media buzz, with several major newspapers doing stories on her achievements thus far. She recently appeared at her alma mater, Malibu High School, to speak about her work.
Dutoit graduated early from Malibu High and is set to begin classes at Santa Monica College in January, with an eye toward getting an eventual degree from Stanford University.
“I want to study psychology,” Dutoit said. “I think it will help me when I am working with actors.”
If it seems Dutoit is taking on mature responsibilities at a young age, she’s not too concerned. She has been tapping into “older” sensibilities for a while.
“I wrote ‘Faded Memories’ when I was 14,” Dutoit said. “All my friends had boyfriends back then, so I wrote my main character so that she doesn’t know what love is. I found that when I directed it, I changed some stuff, though, because I’m older and feel differently.”
There is quietude in Dutoit’s demeanor. Her long dark hair and sloe-eyed gaze have a pre-Raphaelite cast that suits her ageless appeal. Her single-mindedness and ability to capture the adolescent zeitgeist has generated Hollywood buzz and Boucher is carefully steering her young talent.
“‘Faded Memories’ is about a girl with a phobia of being touched by others and yet love ultimately heals her,” Boucher said. “It may be a universal teen love story, but there is a hint of ‘Girl Interrupted’ as well as ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ The sensibility of her characters is very European.”
The story is set in Malibu Canyon and Leo Carrillo Beach, though Dutoit, who goes professionally by her given name, Anne-Sophie, shot it in Santa Clarita. The budget was less than $1 million and the film was shot in less than three weeks on high definition video.
“Anne-Sophie truly doesn’t believe her age is relevant to what she can do,” Boucher said. “She works very hard. She doesn’t go out to parties like most girls her age. She’s very driven.”
“I wanted to make a film that I knew my friends would want to see,” Dutoit said. “I recently screened a clip at Malibu High and I think they liked it.”
Dutoit’s parents returned the family to Southern California after living in Montreal largely because Dutoit insisted she wanted to act and direct, and that Los Angeles would be the best place for her to train.
“But when I first got here, I found that a lot of the kids were very superficial,” Dutoit said. “I ended up spending a lot of my time with the kids who were in Special Ed classes. For me, they are real. They love you for who you are. In fact, I’m thinking about doing a documentary that shows how Special Ed kids are perceived in the world’s eyes.”
Dutoit’s parents also showed talent and drive at a young age.
“Anne-Sophie’s father was taking photos of Jimmy Carter in Washington, D.C. when he was 16,” Boucher said. “And her mother was writing and directing plays at the same age. You hope your children come into the world with even more talent than you.”
Dutoit has a close working relationship with her father. He is one of the producers on “Faded Memories” and she has cast him in her work.
“He’s not real comfortable in front of the camera,” Dutoit said. “So I put him in scenes where he plays a lawyer.”
She doesn’t take her parents’ support for granted. “Filmmaking is a big undertaking,” Dutoit said. “Most kids nowadays, they’re not encouraged like I have been. Parents should support their kids’ dreams. You never know what they’ll end up doing.”