Writer Jean-Baptiste Andrea: A Window Into Another World | Louisiana Channel скачать в хорошем качестве

Writer Jean-Baptiste Andrea: A Window Into Another World | Louisiana Channel

“I have this strange feeling that even though I write the story, it’s pre-existing.” We met French writer Jean-Baptiste Andrea, who in 2023 won the Prix Goncourt, the highest literary award of his home country. ”I’m just the channel between that idea and the paper.” In the conversation, Andrea reflects on the power of books as “a window into another world,” fostering empathy and transformation by allowing readers to inhabit lives other than their own. He shares how storytelling has shaped his life and worldview: “Books were very important in my life, all of my life... They taught me things about myself — that I wasn’t alone.” He speaks candidly about feeling out of place growing up — as a vegetarian and self-described tree-hugger in France — and how literature offered companionship and escape. “I found other people doing that in books, so I thought, hey, I’m not alone.” With a background in filmmaking, Andrea also considers the artistic and practical contrasts between cinema and literature. “In films, every single idea you have costs money,” he notes. By contrast, writing novels allows for complete creative freedom: “Every single one of my books is 100 percent me.” Andrea speaks with reverence about art in all forms — literature, painting, music, fashion — as expressions of something larger than ourselves. He recalls a formative visit to Florence at age 15, where Renaissance art awakened a lifelong belief in the mystical and sacred nature of storytelling. “Every work of art... is potentially a window,” he says. “It’s a stimulus to the imagination.” Jean-Baptiste Andrea was born in 1971 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France. A former screenwriter and director, he is the author of several acclaimed novels, including Ma Reine (2017), Cent millions d’années et un jour (2019), Des diables et des saints (2021), and Veiller sur elle (2023), which won the Prix Goncourt. His work has been translated into multiple languages and praised for its poetic voice and profound humanism. Jean-Baptiste Andrea was interviewed by Marc-Christoph Wagner at the French Embassy in Copenhagen in November 2024. Camera: Jarl Therkelsen Kaldan Edit: Jarl Therkelsen Kaldan Producer: Marc-Christoph Wagner Copyright: Louisiana Channel, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2025 Louisiana Channel is supported by Den A.P. Møllerske Støttefond, Ny Carlsbergfondet and C.L. Davids Fond og Samling. Subscribe to our channel for more videos on literature:    / thelouisianachannel   FOLLOW US HERE: Website: http://channel.louisiana.dk Instagram:   / louisianachannel   Facebook:   / louisianachannel