Interview with ‘What Marielle Knows’ Filmmaker Frédéric Hambalek

About What Marielle Knows: When titular character Marielle, 11, inexplicably gains the ability to see and hear everything her parents do, the illusion of the perfect family shatters.

I had the pleasure of speaking with writer and director Frédéric Hambalek during the Tribeca Festival about his sophomore feature, What Marielle Knows.  In our wide-ranging discussion, Hambalek spoke about his writing process, genre, and family privacy.

Kouguell: This is such a thought-provoking film.  How did the story evolve?

Hambalek:  I had this idea about 10-15 years ago, when I saw a baby monitor with a built-in camera. The image of someone watching a sleeping child felt strange and wrong. I thought a lot about privacy in a family. I asked myself:  'What would parents do if they were monitored by their kids?' I thought about how parents relate to their children and vice versa, and the power structures that exist and shift within a family.

The second aspect of this is how kids see their parents. A young child sees their parents as almost gods who know everything and can do anything. But then they start growing up and realize that these gods, their parents, make mistakes.

Kouguell: Tell me about your writing process and how as the writer/director one might influence or inform the other.

Hambalek:  I started out at 18, I made films you make with your friends, and at some point, I realized you need a good script to make a good film. The process I follow: after expanding on notes of an idea, I work with index cards and see if I can get scenes out of that and have that before me and see that film in front of my eyes. Then I write the treatment, to see the structure, and finally I write the script.  There are many rewrites that follow.

Kouguell: How much story and/or dialogue input do you allow the actors?

Hambalek: Not with the story, but I definitely allow them a different take on the dialogue. They rarely do some improvisation.

Kouguell: Marielle’s sudden telepathic powers force her parents to tell the truth about their lives. There is no privacy.  You created a compelling triangulation between Marielle and her parents with shifting alliances.

Hambalek: That is what the film is about:  how does surveillance change your behavior, and as you said, how would feelings change for each other, how would those feelings play this double-edged game. That’s always the center of it.

Kouguell: Let’s talk about the genre.  It’s a drama with comedic moments. It’s edgy. Sometimes there’s a wink to the audience, such as with the incorporation of music. How do you see it?

Hambalek: I never really think about genre. This film has a supernatural edge, but I didn’t want it to have horror elements. I wanted to create a feeling in this film so the audience doesn’t know how to take it.  I like when a situation or a scene can be many things at once. 

Kouguell: Yes, and that’s very effective. Without giving away too much, the film allows the audience to impose their own ending. 

Hambalek: I would love people to see the film with an open mind and take away what they want; that will be great.