Writer-Director-Actress Jenna Suru on the World-Changing Charms of Saint-Tropez

Jenna Suru‘s early film career involved working for Gaumont, one of the major French film studios and the world’s first and oldest film company. There she was in charge of distributing Gaumont new releases to film festivals around the world. Later she went on to work for SND Groupe M6, a French distributor that also distributes American films in France including the Twilight series and Scream 4.

She also received some film production experience in Los Angeles, where she worked as a production assistant and then a producer on a couple of shows. Her various industry experiences helped her to form Belle Époque Films, which allowed her to further support emerging filmmakers and produce her own projects.

There is no beautiful piece of art really possible if you’re just alone.” – Jenna Suru

Influenced by films like And God Created Woman and the Before Sunrise trilogy, L’Âge d’Or is her company’s debut feature film, which she wrote, directed, produced, and co-starred in. The film tells the story of a penniless Franco-American producer and an ambitious French theater actress who meet in Paris, 1967 and embark on an artistic quest to change the world that leads them to Saint-Tropez, a coastal town on the French Riviera and a fabled artistic haven.

Photo credit: S. Angeloni

Some of the things Jenna and I discuss in this episode include

• How artists can change the world
• Challenges of shooting a period piece
• Experiences that allowed Jenna to wear multiple hats on her debut feature film
• The benefits of securing music rights before shooting begins
• How her acting background influences her work as a director
• What makes Saint-Tropez so special

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For more on what it takes to produce optimistic films that can change the world, check out this podcast interview with Golden Globe-winning producer Lindsay Doran (Sense and Sensibility, Sabrina, Stranger Than Fiction).