Forum on Non-Professional Actors in Independent Cinema

in this forum, we ask what so-called non-professional actors bring to the table as creative participants in the filmmaking process. Each author takes a slightly different approach to a variety of films that, together, sketch the historically and geographically expansive scope of this performance trope. Catherine O'Rawe discusses the role of non-professionals in film festival culture, where they are often put on display but rarely listened to, with recent examples including Africans performing their own “migrant” selves in European art cinema. At what point can these performers shed their migrant identities and become full participants in the film industry? The contradictions inherent in the casting of so-called non-actors are brought to the fore in Catherine Russell's discussion of Peter Brook's Lord of the Flies (1963). Once the full story of the shoot on Vieques Island in the Caribbean with thirty-four young American boys is revealed (in the form of paratextual supplements on the Criterion Collection DVD release), Golding's original fable of bullying loses its allegorical punch to become a tale of latent imperialism. The particular tension between “a perfect plan” and a “non-professional execution” that upsets the realism of Lord of the Flies is also at issue in Miguel Gaggiotti's analysis of Robert Bresson. Gaggiotti argues that Bresson learned from his “models” (untrained actors) and even modeled his own authorship on their slippage between predetermined action and chance. The close analysis of Bresson's filmmaking practice suggests that his use of “models” involved more than his actors’ lack of training and extended to the contingent effects of their otherwise strictly controlled direction. Finally, Ivone Margulies discusses a rare example of a productive creative collaboration between filmmakers and non-professional actors in Dry Ground Burning (Adirley Qeirós and Joana Pimenta, 2022). In this “ethnography of fiction,” the actors’ stories become ingredients for a speculative fiction set in a town on the periphery of Brasilia. The directors not only indulge their actors’ fantasies; they give them space and time onscreen to think, to rest, and to be themselves and also much more than themselves. We offer these essays as a movement toward recognizing the invaluable role of non-professional actors in independent cinema, whose unrecognized labor opens up critical questions of the ethics and potential of film performance.At the Venice Film Festival in September 2022, all the talk was of the stars: Cate Blanchett appeared in a fabulous Schiaparelli velvet jumpsuit at the premiere of Todd Field's Tár, the film for which she would later receive a Best Actress nomination. Timothée Chalamet and Harry Styles walked the red carpet on the Lido, with crowds of excited girls arriving at 7:00 a.m. to get their spots at the front. The Don't Worry Darling junket generated the instantly meme-worthy star moments of Chris Pine zoning out during Harry Styles's rambling interview responses and Florence Pugh strutting in purple Valentino, sipping an Aperol spritz, when she should have been attending the film's press conference. The spectacle of the festival encompasses the para-cinematic events of the red-carpet appearance, the interview or press conference, and even the standing ovation at the film premiere.Festivals need stars, but not only stars: as Edgar Morin wrote in 1955 in his essay on Cannes, “the function of a festival is to commercialize what is aesthetic and to aestheticize what is commercial” (2279). Global art-house cinema needs celebrity as a selling point, but it also requires its antithesis, the non-professional actor, in order to flourish in the “intangible mechanisms of the ‘prestige economy’” (Cucco). Awards such as the 1996 Venice Film Festival Coppa Volpi for Best Actress given to four-year-old Victoire Thivisol, the star of Doillon's Ponette, or the 1999 Cannes Best Actress prize shared by non-professionals Séverine Caneele (for Dumont's L'humanité) and Émilie Dequenne (for the Dardennes’ Rosetta)—while Caneele's costar Emmanuel Schotté won Best Actor—were greeted by boos and incomprehension from professional actors (Austin 252). More recently, Yalitza Aparicio's Best Actress nomination at the Academy Awards in 2019 (for Cuarón's Roma) stirred up racist resentment among professional actors in Mexico but provided a point of intrigue and discussion for pundits and cultural commentators, as did her red-carpet appearances at Venice and Telluride, billed as a “Cinderella story” (Lopez).The apparently incongruous presence of the non-professional in a space populated by practiced cinephiles and glamorous stars actually can be thought of as strategic, reflecting Harbord's views that “accidental occurrences secure the time of the festival as an unrepeatable event” and that the contingent is necessary: “the festival is in need of disruption” (78). The non-professional actor appearing on the festival circuit reassures audiences of the festival's seriousness of purpose, their bodily authenticity and “out-of-placeness” slightly disrupting the flow of global art-house cinema, represented at the festival by stars, couture labels, and advertisers. Cindy H. Wong argues, “Nonprofessional actors tend to provide the festival films more legitimate claim to authenticity, to substantiate the claim that a serious not the to be by the of the of the the of the at the and Styles and when attending the premiere of the film by which the of the for its is the story of the by non-professional actor a on the of a with her actor and the young her migrant in the actors such as film was by for its between the young and the but also for the performance of was for her authenticity and The film's of the of cinema was in its of a non-professional in the of his of is that, by the young the and the to be a them but to their stories than with them and was and to in the film from her professional such as with and with often at her on to the film and takes to her her involved to but that she that what she was was not a with non-professionals and presence not in from At the Venice she a and was by the and of the also appeared at the film's press was that the young in the not including in the slightly given that and in only a of the is also that is not on non-professionals often to get for their the young not to the they have much by The of the with non-professional much they get are they more to the non-professional often is not to with of the film to the and did the of the the did at the film's press at In the she an and her for much of the she that she the that she to the of young in and that she thought she in the is of these para-cinematic and it is not to that this is of the or that the non-professional is to bring to the of the their bodily authenticity the realism and the seriousness of the film and as a to the and generated by the example to the of the non-professional actor and the in in at where it won the of from to the the and on to and critical of the for Best at the Academy is a whose films and won the at Cannes in and use of non-professional with only a in the a casting and and from as the been a The film is in with and the walked the red carpet at where in particular out in a with an by whose own of the to from the for At the festival press for was an the on and with an as is in the film's in a point of to than from the the his own and the in them on the of the non-professional in the The the stars of the not to their presence as bodily of the film's that the non-professional on the red carpet or at a festival press be as a of or for a is when the for them at press for the 2019 Cannes press for where non-professional to be she only press she not for and was of the of cinema the of the won the prize for young In the of the is with and to only a and in become of the of non-professionals to be at and with and is for his also of a and been The film and her in it are as a “Cinderella her red-carpet the to her is as with from get her in order and she to would her to be an on of and that she a and that she when she the that the film is a story for her performance in the for a for but the of non-professionals is and the lack of training and for actors in is in the of in of not appeared in film or and was be to and her own and the which non-actors film “the of non-professional are to their the of an of that are with the they in of the of the non-professional actor in that as are the of and they often The tale of and that of and that these migrant non-actors in need the and of their directors to their in the and to the that with The non-professional be the or in only the film on the of cinema, and or with festival appearance, a among in the is that brought a to the film in her “Cinderella story” at Peter his of Golding's Lord of the Flies in the of an and in of an authenticity of Golding's story of young boys on a become was an of that to the in Golding's story the potential to a film by of a that would the in the the of and cinema. the Criterion DVD of Brook's Lord of the Flies a of in the of the shoot on the of Vieques the of it is that the authenticity of the did not with the even they did their to out the story of on The of this story is a in film with contradictions that to the role of actors in independent cinema and the of with the effects of during the of Lord of the Flies is as an of on a a of need to out to or and a in which thirty-four young boys out for the to a by the At the Vieques was a and was only a in to the The American the casting was in the Brook's they the which was as a and it was a their on the actors not only of but also The boys and learned and including on to become a professional actor, but of the boys that they by out as In a film in of the actors with and of the in Vieques and themselves the of the film on their of the effects of his his and to the boys later much of the in the film's that the boys and that they a rare in their in his film of Lord of the Flies as it of the in to the and bullying that out The also been for its racist which in the film is a of and The in the film all have of the shoot and have become but we not have the of all thirty-four The are from the film and not among the of actors with are the to have been by the of the story and the shoot to different in the a to shoot with a on a that the was from the and to them in even was for the with and was by with and was in the of cinema. was to of the boys in performing more The of the film is the and of the young often to the in the up and in on film controlled and with more and contingent that is in a from this was a film in and it is the they and from the which the of the boys The on a at a by a and The boys are and on as a with of is a much of its punch is by the of and and which was the with the of the actors as as boys in during The a at the time of but the and the all the to be are slightly as a but the is for the of and of time was on for to on the of the of which is on and as The boys to by and out by of the is by the them of the boys in action and in the between offer the authenticity for which was that much of his to be to bring the film in at a that be and of that the boys themselves on the that was not a set up his to and that on controlled and together, the in the DVD supplements in the of a different from that of Golding's tale and Brook's of the the film on its and the Peter was by his own that the of the was as a that of a more Brook's as it from the out and is of the only actors with as a that the of of the including his in of his of the film in a from Vieques and its In Brook's the boys as boys from the which the of Golding's that the boys to and in of in we did not the story” Lord of the the boys by and to their and and Lord of the The actors to they not with the arriving on the they the of the they in by the the the and the is At the the boys boys on an such as to a the film was on an with non-professional was for different from his the boys their in and the film the of and The are more or than The boys are in the or in in the in that their The that to than as the boys with Brook's an actor or to a by the is a in the on non-professional can be of in the and as they from the in and as with from the out In Lord of the set up a for which and in which the boys to but what is the would that the of the the and the the set up in his that the actors to the more than the was by and his of which a in which be to the of and a of and with an allegorical to be and that the potential of the as a potential of the potential of young boys in the of Vieques as a to an of such a in the but the boys themselves the in which is as the they during the from with their the boys the to the controlled of the Lord of the have been but they in Lord of the which to be and in a is in a story of and in the of and from European The was as a of The of the a The and the of and the of are from of European and to a the film with a and its cultural The on the at the is not an of in which the have to themselves are brought to the of of the boys is the of a the up to the full boys from actually on a and to by to the and the Lord of the Flies boys from Golding's tale that as a that are more often and to which be but such a for the of on The of Vieques is of and by of the a by the of Vieques by the this is the that the film the time of the the was a as the to a In the of the the the of a given the of Vieques in we have the of Lord of the Flies to the different that to the story and on the and the of the boys set on the on the The in the that, to and cinema the not as of the but in and for the of the The of the is what the film its its from Golding's by it in of the boys on The American boys are boys to be to but they also are the of boys shared a in with and his to the boys and action be an of that as was a with his actors that the of Golding's a of the of his that the and his of to their in the film them the from from the shoot a point of that “the boys their own as a of their as the actors are of and we not to a but toward a more and form of by the of that that in even to the on the Brook's of young American boys to this space was an of to the of the of that Golding's the are and the are out in with they are and apparently a the of Brook's have been an of with and and the the boys to and the film on that Bresson is the European with the use of non-professional actors Bresson with in his and non-professionals to the of all his and with the Bresson's to non-professional actors from European as or among with non-professionals in of their also with and even creative with only did Bresson the casting of non-professionals a of his cinema, but also a filmmaking with to as on the or Bresson these to the performers in his films from the with a as to films with professional or films to more than and did not the potential of cinema as a art Bresson films from his cinema, which to as of the in Bresson's cinema been by such as of the actor, or as Bresson is a and the of the Bresson wrote and his collaboration with his of the the of his of on to of and of not only suggests but also Bresson did not with non-professional on and with this to not only that Bresson a of non-professional performance from his but also that his own approach to film or his performance of a of with the of his In to this or between the of the and the of the that Bresson have in the of his a of for his own filmmaking function of the in the of the as or for at it can toward shared by performance and to the labor and creative that it can the actors to a film their Finally, it can the of film authorship is and between filmmakers and is of the filmmakers in the of cinema, and his or as of a as a example of a film and by a in his would Bresson's as an example of cinema in his essay of the critical in Bresson and on the and his films are and Bresson's cinema a presence in the of such as and among and discussion on and Bresson is to which Bresson in his on the the of Bresson as an and be as a from the Bresson not only close with such as and also was an of the that would later and in of the and events that Bresson was of the which his and in and press also a of to authorship in the films themselves. for with a story is it as it a the is with a is extended the use of In this authorship is as the the author as to his and that Bresson as a non-professional author whose it or not and as a of to his own or tension between a perfect and a non-professional is an of in its the film's is not much with the action but with the action is his which is as and as the to the to the of to the but also the of it out as is not the but the that perfect his it needs to be by a performance potential the of the for and an as they are to the The their is than The the is to set up the they use to from the on the of the the of the to receive the is in the and to the the his the The action but an it as a of the that even and have of their their can them at their also can and that are from the original to Bresson's cinema as a of an to a performance of authorship that by of its the at the of Bresson's and which as an at the to a The between and and are that Bresson's what is that for these are also to Bresson's and The of and their with their are to the creative of of or performers and of the different to Bresson's these different it be to of not but is the and in what is to as the author as or Bresson is by a and cinema is and by it from its own and in an use of and that and in of and are at the of from out of Bresson is in or in film by Bresson. all of Bresson's films also what we of as a in and that, for lack of a not to the Bresson. to story it is even to a more film than of the films Bresson In would that such a film is an of Bresson's in is a and is an or a performance that the of Bresson's of the that it to be as as it the the the films are also a on which Bresson's a Bresson film not for a performance but for the of the be to Bresson's of performance as to a to Bresson's is often to as would a particular of In it is for in Bresson's cinema to be as a or a Bresson and often to Bresson's in which with professional as of the is that what his films his are the of this the of non-professional performance to not only the of non-professional actors but also the of an European actors’ and the with the actors’ and to the and the and of authorship the in which audiences the actors’ as the in of non-professional performance also an at the of Bresson's of is the that the and Bresson's are to the of this non-professional authorship in at the lack of and the to claim authorship aesthetic from the and and by all use a and of Bresson his in the films it to the Finally, in their and to their the the performance of authorship to which Bresson to speculative a of the Dry Ground Burning and Joana to from a of to on a tale the and of The film non-professional actors from the by and the the for In the the in the is as as the and of the for a film with Dry Ground Burning of and with of the and in or to give themselves time the film their the cinema a on actors a for the actor and the Dry Ground on its 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