Catherine Marchal: Ready
Distant in appearance, Catherine Marchal is the embodiment of fantasy, joy of life and sensitivity on a daily basis. Far from the classic stereotypes of French film business, she follows her path according to her desires and owns her choices by cultivating humor and sincerity. She likes challenges and has a fair view of things. She has been passionate about theater and cinema since childhood, and over the years she has known how to find her place in the film industry. As an actress, director or producer, Catherine is naturally interested in everything related to image and photography. She likes to immortalize, according to her inspiration, the moments of life, thus freezing forever what is ultimately fleeting.
Since 2020, she has starred in “Ici tout commence”, a successful series broadcast on TF1, and has had to travel back and forth between Paris and the provinces, so it was on the way back to work, on the train, that she answered our questionnaire.
Instagram: catherinemarchal_off
Your first photographic trigger?
Catherine Marchal: My children’s faces when they were babies.
The man of the pictures who inspires you?
Catherine Marchal: JR for his intrusion into our daily lives. If you don’t go to the picture, the picture will come to you.
The picture you wanted to make?
Catherine Marchal: Bradley Cooper’s first selfie at the 2014 Oscars.
The one that touched you the most?
Catherine Marchal: Definitely a portrait of Romy Schneider, but which one? Certainly all of them.
And the one that made you angry?
Catherine Marchal: The one by Nilufer Demir of this dead baby washed up on a beach. If we had to name just one.
What is your relationship with the image?
Catherine Marchal: It’s part of the job, but nothing more.
What image do you have of yourself?
Catherine Marchal: Benevolent but clear-sighted.
What quality is needed to be a good photographer?
Catherine Marchal: Patience.
The secret to the perfect picture, if it exists?
Catherine Marchal: The framing.
Your beginning camera?
Catherine Marchal: My mother’s 35mm Pentax.
The one you use today?
Catherine Marchal: My iPhone.
Your favorite fabric?
Catherine Marchal: Anything that makes you laugh.
Your best quality?
Catherine Marchal: Loyalty.
An image to illustrate a new banknote?
Catherine Marchal: A tree.
The job you wouldn’t have wanted to do?
Catherine Marchal: (Symbolic) Bookkeeper.
Your biggest extravagance as an actress?
Catherine Marchal: Being alone on stage.
Your biggest regret?
Catherine Marchal: My job is not a job that deserves regret.
What is your relationship with social networks? Which ones do you use?
Catherine Marchal: A relationship that is both playful and professional. They are incredible communication tools. It is also a way of being in contact with the public. So Instagram mostly but also Twitter, Facebook and a little Linkedin.
Color or black and white?
Catherine Marchal: B&W.
Daylight or artificial light?
Catherine Marchal: Evening light.
If God existed, would you ask him to pose for you or would you choose a selfie with him?
Catherine Marchal: A selfie please! Because my grandma loves you.
The image that to you represents the current state of the world?
Catherine Marchal: This New York Times photo of Australia on fire.
What do you think the world is missing today?
Catherine Marchal: Time (to heal before imploding).
What if we had to do it all over again?
Catherine Marchal: All the same, even the mistakes.