What was it that first attracted you to this role?

I thought it was interesting to look at the demolition of a neighborhood and funny that it should be told through this story of a lost cat. And then when I met with Cédric, our discussion about the film was so rich, and he was so generous that it really made me want to work with him.

When I first read for the part of Chloé, it was for a part in a short film. But after we started rehearsing, the producers told us that they had decided to go ahead and turn the film into a feature.

Did that change how you played the role?

Not really, we had already begun working at that point, and, for me, whether it was a short or a feature didn't really affect how I prepared for the role. In terms of the script, however, it meant that there were a lot of changes, because Cédric was writing day and night, giving us new scenes all the time. Of course, we were all really happy that they had such faith in the film to make a feature out of it.

How familiar were you with the Bastille neighborhood in the film?

Well, I was born and grew up in Paris, so I was somewhat familiar with it, but I couldn't really say I knew it before the film. But because we shot in just a few streets in the neighborhood and had our production office there and we ate and slept in the neighborhood, it was like getting a crash course.

What was it like working on such an improvisational film?

The thing is that when you're working like that--spontaneously, improvisationally-- you aren't really aware of the work you're doing. Cédric guided us and oriented us, and made sure that he got what he needed from us, but for the actors, you're so much in the character and so caught up in the story that it's a very natural way to work. The scenes with Madame Renée came so easily that we really didn't have to work at them. For me especially, playing someone who's a little bit lost and a little bit unformed, but who is surrounded by characters with very strong personalities, I sometimes just let myself be guided by them, like someone taking a stroll around an unfamiliar neighborhood in the company of people who really know the area.

Was this the first time that you had been in a cast that mixed professional actors and non-professionals?

Yes, but I found that the other actors who were "non-professionals" were all really strong. Mme Renée especially makes a very forceful impression, as much as any professional actress could hope to. And, as I didn't have that much acting experience before "When the Cat's Away" I felt like I was sort of in the same boat as everyone else.

It's your own cat, Arapimou, who plays Gris-Gris in the film?

Yes. I used to joke that they chose me to play Chloé because I could provide the cat for the film!

Why do you think that the film has drawn such a following, even in places that aren't familiar with the neighborhood, and what's happening there?

Part of it, I think, is that the film tells on the surface a very simple story. But it's also universal. I went to Japan with the film, and people there told me something that I found very interesting. They said that this is a story that could very easily take place in a neighborhood of Tokyo. It's true that the film is very much about Paris, but in a way, it could be set anywhere: an old neighborhood being torn down, neighbors whom you don't know, people who meet each other, but who might very well never have met, even though they live next door to each other, people who live simply but a little impersonally, like you would find in any city around the world.