Translated by Bethszabee Garner

Revealed through memorial roles, notably in Le Consentement by Vanessa Filho, Kim Higelin is establishing herself as a rising star of French cinema. The heiress of a family where art is a tradition, she reveals a sensitivity here that is focused on the poetry of emotions. In 2025, she will be starring in Franck Dubosc's Un ours dans le Jura, alongside Laure Calamy and Benoît Poelvoorde, as well as Alain Raoust's Un champ de fraises pour l'éternité.

Désirée de Lamarzelle: A gallery from which you would like to regularly ‘borrow’ works ?

Kim Higelin: A photograph at the Maison européenne de la photographie, a diverse and committed world in which I recognise myself. Its collections are rich and inspiring and its bookshop is a real gem for art and image enthusiasts.

Désirée de Lamarzelle: The artist that you follow on social media?

K.H.: I discovered Daniel Archer on Instagram, an Australian photographer, and I am fascinated by his poetic vision of fashion. He invites the viewer to discover hidden stories within his images and pays particular attention to shapes, creating compositions that blur the line between the real and the imaginary. It is incredibly profound: each photo seems meticulously thought out.

Désirée de Lamarzelle: A work that you still don't understand.

K.H.: Marina Abramović's Rhythm 0 performance made a deep impression on me. I only saw the archives once, but they still haunt me. This shift in human behaviour towards an almost unbearable monstrosity continues to upset me every time I think about it.

Désirée de Lamarzelle: If you were a painting…

K.H.: A painting titled Le Cap Layet by Henri-Edmond Cross. What I like about this painting is the contrast between intense, almost tangible emotions and familiar landscapes that blur reality. For me, it evokes all the beauty of the South and of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, where my childhood home was located, which was unfortunately sold when I was 16. It was my refuge: I learnt everything there, how to play, read and swim. These memories always centre me.

Désirée de Lamarzelle: Which artist would you like to invite to dinner?

K.H.: I discovered The Picture of Dorian Gray at school, and that book has never left me. I reread it often, so obsessed I am by it. If I could talk to Oscar Wilde, I would tell him how fascinated I am by his work. I would ask him: ‘What profound suffering inspired the creation of this masterpiece?’

Désirée de Lamarzelle: The last time you were literally touched by a work of art.

K.H.: A painting by Mirna Kresic, which I have just inherited and which belonged to my grandmother. Present throughout my childhood because reigned in my grandparents' living room, this work has an inestimable emotional value for me.

Désirée de Lamarzelle: If you had to pose nude?

K.H.: Instinctively, I think of my modesty, but also of the power of art and its ability to convey a message. Lately, I have been fascinated by a documentary about Jean Cocteau: his drawings of nudes, especially those of his lovers, exude a rare emotion. I would choose this artist.

Désirée de Lamarzelle: A work that takes you back to your childhood.

K.H.: Les Demoiselles de Rochefort by Jacques Demy is without hesitation my must-see film. It's the film I watched the most as a child, also in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. It is a work that brings together all the arts that I admire, with its songs, its costumes and the magic of its encounters. It is a perfect blend of joy and melancholy.

Désirée de Lamarzelle: The painting you would have liked to paint.

K.H.: Pollock's Lavender Mist, Number 1 was the first painting I discovered thanks to my grandmother, who was passionate about art. Its power and freedom made a lasting impression on me. Pollock's works, with their strength and intensity, arouse deep emotions in me that I would have liked to express through painting.