Véronique D-Travers (Interview with Jean Rollin's Friend and Assistant)

Véronique Djaouti Travers is a close friend of my favourite director—Jean Rollin. She took part in all (or at least most) of his cinematographic and literature projects since the 90’s. Véronique was a still photographer, director’s assistant, and even made three appearances as an actress in his films.

Today Véronique is the main keeper of the memory of the cult director. She manages online groups dedicated to Jean Rollin, as well as an extensive, very informative, and beautiful website created by herself.

Véronique kindly accepted my request to share with you a few memories about her work with Jean Rollin, and especially a few amusing and even astonishing anecdotes.

I reserved the original French version of the interview for Véronique herself. If you speak French, you can read it on Véronique's website dedicaed to Jean Rollin.

Interview About Jean Rollin with Véronique Djaouti-Travers

Hello, Véronique. Would you like to be interviewed for my blog? I have already prepared the questions.

Good evening, Gene. Yes, why not. What would you like to ask me in your interview, on what subject? I will try to answer your questions the best I can…

You are the foremost expert in the domain of the works of Jean Rollin that I know, and you worked with him a lot. So I came up with questions about your work with Jean Rollin and about yourself.

How did you learn about Jean Rollin and how did you meet him?

To answer your first question, first of all, I’m not an expert. Jean Rollin was my friend, and we worked together for twenty years.

When I was adolescent and a student, I studied in the domain of photography, drawing, image, as well as mock-up in the book publishing industry. During this period of adolescence, I often went to the cinema. My preferences lied essentially in the genres of fantasy, horror, and gore.

So, I discovered cinematographic works of numerous French and foreign directors, but especially the films by Jean Rollin: The Living Dead Girl [La morte vivante], The Grapes of Death [Les raisins de la mort], Fascination, and a plenty of others to not cite only these. I didn’t personally know the director yet.

During my studies, I specialized in fantasy, horror, gore, and medical.

This allowed me to get the first contract as a photographer and communication specialist in the medical domain—I specialize in human and comparative anatomy—I talk about it in the interview on this subject in Videotopsie 2015. Here is an homage to J. Rollin by David Didelot. You will see the cover of Videotopsie in which I’m giving an interview about my collaboration with J. Rollin.

A few years later, in 1990, while accompanying a friend in Paris, I met an editor—Charlie Le Bouil who passed my contact information to J. Rollin who then contacted me. So I met a charmant monsieur, far from the cliches that others imposed on him. The first contact was fabulous. We talked about his films, of course, and about my profession of such a particular specialty.

Jean gave me two of his books, as I knew him less as an author than a director. I’m talking about Les demoiselles de l'étrange, edition of Filipacchi and Une petite fille magique, edition of L'Hors du Temps LCS. I was blown away by these two books, and we would talk about them with Jean. I quickly understood that Jean was testing me. J. Rollin was in search of someone to assist him in his work.

In 1991, Jean offered me to do still photography for a pilot of 26 minutes meant for a series shot on video in the region of Sologne for France 3. I’m talking about Détectives de charme. There exist only a few items from that unfinished filming, and a few photos taken at that time.

After that, Jean asked me if I would also accept to work on the edition. I accepted. The friendship was established, we were like brother and sister, very close. We had much in common, we were in osmose.

While working with Jean, I had time to learn much about cinema, the real cinema. Even if my studies were thorough, there are many things that one can only learn when working directly with someone like Jean.

Then, we worked on many oeuvres such as Et le temps s’en va…!.

In 1992, there was a feature length film Killing Car, la voiture rouge-sang. The film has never been released to the cinema theaters, only to video on VHS, afterwards on DVD…

I keep a touching memory of that filming, a bit special. It’s an ordered film. At that period, I remember, Jean had written a script Le retour de Dracula [The Return of Dracula] also for France 3. But the pitfalls of cinema, especially in the process, are what they are. Jean had asked for help from one of his friends—Pierre Dubois who worked at that time for France 3 Rennes. The project didn’t work out, unfortunately.

It’s thanks to the shooting of Killing Car that I learned what filming is, as well as its post-production and preparation of filming. I was responsible for all transportation as Jean didn’t drive a car anymore, which was necessary for this profession… I also learned what the double track montage was with my friend Janette Kronegger, our chief editor. The film at that time was shot on Super 16.

The filming took place in November 1992, and the match cuts—in January 1993. It’s at the end of this filming Jean lost the functioning of his kidneys and found himself on dialysis. Which perturbed our work to a certain point.

I found it passionate to see the backstage of the cinema with Jean, and it wasn’t easy especially to finance the film. The same goes for a book, in fact as costly.

So I had a position of a still photographer and model maker-illustrator of the books that J. Rollin wrote.

Jean had to endure multiple dialysis per week. I figured out for him to take a small portable computer so that he would be able to write during his long sessions at the hospital. I would pick him up after his sessions, we shared a lot… It was hard, but at the same time, as we supported each other so much in the friendship and work, it seemed less hard for Jean.

In 1995, we had the shooting of the film Two Orphan Vampires [Les deux orphelines vampires] released in 1997 partially financed by Lagardère Group… A difficult filming for Jean, as we had to combine it with dialysis and he got ill with hepatitis during the filming.

It’s also at that time I became an administrator of the company of J. Rollin following his request. I accepted too. This implied a certain responsibility, and I had to combine it with the rest of my work as a still photographer and production manager, as meanwhile Jean also became the director of the collection with different editors which complicated the work.

I keep a very good memory of this filming. It’s during this shooting that I got acquainted with:

• Natalie Perrey (1929-2012), script,
• Norbert Marfaing-Sintès (1955-2020)
• Jacques Orth (1929-2011)—J. Rollin’s friend and responsible for Avia 2000 to l'Île Saint-Louis where the post-production of the films of J. Rollin took place…
• Lionel Wallmann (1928-2011), another friend of Jean who particularly worked on world screenings together with Egret Films company.

I also witnessed how the censure worked in France, as well as the treatment of an œuvre for selling it in France and abroad—it’s very particular. I had a chance to see how a film was “censored”: the famous  -10, -12, -16, -18 years old, X and “adult and warned public”…

There are also festivals. Such good memories! I accompanied J. Rollin in his festivals or signings—I suggest for you to visit the website dedicated to Jean, as there are many related links…

The film was shot on Super 16 and upscaled to 35 mm in Italy. This way we could have seven 35 mm copies of the film for the French release…

Those are the TV sales of J.Rollin’s films to Canal+ via the Société Dès Films of J. P Dionnet that allowed the financing of the following films.

1999, the shooting of the film Dracula’s Fiancee [La fiancée de Dracula], of a French-Italian co-production, released in 2002. Also a difficult filming. Because Jean was weakened by the years of dialysis… I remember that Jean had written multiple scenarios that for financing reasons didn’t end with shootings, but for this one we had this co-production…

In October 2000, Jean finally received his kidney transplant which freed for us time from this constraint that we had to deal with. I remember that Jean delegated to his director’s assistant the work during his absence during the dialysis sessions in which I accompanied him, as my vehicle had become the production vehicle…

2006. The night of the clocks [La nuit des horloges]. Many said or wrote about this film as a testament film of J. Rollin. It’s not true. I remember that Jean wanted to make a film in which one would find extracts from his other films, but this shooting proved to be complex. We were lucky in a certain way with the extracts and also because we had a chief editor of a very big talent.

The filming lasted for a few months. We weren’t really sure that we could finish the film: one more time because of financing, even though we had a financing partner—the government of the region of Limousin. The difficulty was to deliver a 35 mm copy, although the film in DCP facilitated more things and especially with the arrival of DVD and later Blu Ray, films could be projected in theaters starting from DVD without losing a grain.

The Night of the Clocks came out in 2008 in Limoges, financing partner of the region of Limousin that financed the film, then on DVD. It was necessary to do a transfer on tape to deliver a 35 mm copy, and not a digital DCP.

The filming also took place in Florence in Italy at a unique museum the decoration of which had been first reserved for the filming of Hannibal Rising by Peter Webber. But the museum was small, the responsible people didn’t want to allow the filming of such a large production [Peter Webber’s production]. It’s thanks to a friend—Serena Gentilhomme, specialist and professor of History of Italian cinema of the horror and gore tendency—that we could obtain this décor.

I keep a wonderful memory of this filming for its ambiance as well as the filming crew… I have a touching memory of all these shootings in the company of my friend J. Rollin.

It’s Philippe d’Aram to whom we owe all these music pieces from Jean’s soundtracks with a few exceptions, learn more on the website dedicated to the memory of Jean.

2009~2010. The Mask of Medusa [Le masque de la Méduse] screened in September 2010 at Cinémathèque française de Paris. And released to DVD in bundle with vol. 1 of Complete Writings of J. Rollin [Écrits complets de J. Rollin] in September 2010… Here is also a good memory.

It’s in this year when Jean’s health rapidly worsened… We were preparing another film—The Fiancee of the Crocodile [La fiancée du crocodile]—that would never see the day. There are only a few photos left that I took at home of J. Rollin on October 11, 2010…

That’s it for the first time, Gene. I hope I’ve responded favorably to your first question.

Here is a view of my home office—the appendix of Films ABC™, as my friend J. Rollin liked to say [see more beautiful items from Véronique’s office on her website].

You acted in Killing Car [La femme dangereuse]—the girl with a revolver who is chasing the main character trying to protect friends from her. What memories do you have from this filming and particularly about your role?

Ah, Killing Car, 1992~1993. I consider this film my first real full-length, and I keep a touching memory about it. I had a position of a still photographer for this film, and my vehicle was already a vehicle of production, as Jean didn’t drive anymore. So I was responsible for the director and producer of the film on the set .

I make, in fact, an appearance in this film. Frankly speaking, I didn’t expect at all that Jean would ask me to play something in one of his films.

Moreover, I’m not at all an actress, it’s not really my cup of tea. It’s my profession and my destiny to be in the shadow and not in the full light. So, I didn’t get any satisfaction from it. I was rather embarrassed, as I don’t have the temperament of an actress. It’s not a timidity, no—it simply doesn’t make me fantasize, as it’s often the case for others, to be seen in a film.

Out of pure friendship with Jean, I accepted to play in his film, although I already had much work during the filming, even if not counting other responsibilities than making photos of the 35 mm tape and with all that it brings: logging and calibration in my laboratory…

When Jean asked me to play a small role, I was very annoyed and told him about it. When I saw what role he wanted to see me to endorse… I was even more annoyed…

I know that Jean did it a bit on purpose. You should know me well to measure the subtlety, especially for someone like me . Which made us both laugh even harder .

Jean was also known for having members of his crew play in his films, as he didn’t have much money or when actresses and actors didn’t want to play in a film of J. Rollin or asked for too high rates.

Between two shots of the view with my Nikon, I played this role of a prostitute dressed to the limit of possible on those seven cm heels going to perform the back-and-forth prostitute walk with a gun… and my 110 claw hammer. Jean had asked me to bring my enormous construction hammer, a gift from my husband. This hammer played also in another film of J. Rollin, just like myself who made other appearances in Jean’s films later…

On these images I’m performing the prostitute walk with my hammer .

Thank God, my God, thank you for preventing a woe: although the DVD is in my living room, my husband has never seen the film, so also me, his spouse, going to do the prostitute walk .

It’s during this filming that I got acquainted with his friend—Jean-Loup Philippe who played the role of the antiquarian in the film and was responsible for coaching the “actresses” on the shooting, big part of whom were non-professionals coming from the modeling business and from the previous filming : Détectives de charme.

So I found myself dressed to the limit of possible on seven cm heels going to perform a 50 meters of prostitute walk on the bitumen in a Siberian cold in Saint-Ouen and in Fort de Villiers in a Paris suburb…

Jean-Loup impressed me at that period. He has never succeeded to have me play correctly. Jean had explained to him that in my case this didn’t really have any importance… and besides that, I notably had my photographer responsibilities to assume… So I almost never had time. But this amused Jean, to see me struggling in his film in a role of an antipode of who I am… As for the script, Jean would tell me an appropriate phrase that I would repeat right after.

The most embarrassing part was the cheeky looks of the guys present at the opening of the fun fair in Saint-Ouen, it was truly unpleasant… I didn’t know where to put myself and I hid behind Jean… I remember that Jean had asked the makeup artist—Florence Eloi—to put the brightest possible red lipstick on my lips. I felt totally embarrassed… I’m telling the anecdote on the website.

I suffered a cold on this shooting: it was a Siberian cold in November 1992… That year winter was freezing.

One of my childhood friends also plays a small role of a prostitute in this film. It’s when accompanying this friend at a meeting in the 12th Arrondissement of Paris on the street of Lions Saint-Paul Paris 75004 that I met this editor who had me meet Jean Rollin in September 1990… it’s partially thanks to this friend.

It’s on the occasion of this filming that Jean made me a present—the gun that was stolen from us afterwards at the film setting of the site of Santeny… So Jean later offered me another one that also played in the film…

We don’t know who stole the revolver. We suspected people who would come on the site to shoot. We had also discovered that multiple of our vehicles on the filming were “visited”. The revolver that I had placed in the glove department wasn’t there anymore. We had to return to the armory in Paris to buy a new revolver, identical to the one that had been stolen from us. Jean offered me the second one that I still have.

So I carefully kept the second revolver in my handbag, the second gift that Jean made me—the revolver is heavy, it was hard to hold the purse.

It wasn’t the first time that we suffered a theft: the second, more important one, were the editing coils of the following film—Two Orphan Vampires [Les deux orphelines vampires]…

Véronique's Revolver from the filming of Killing Car

But even though, I keep very good memories of this filming, as well as for the others, by the way, though this wasn’t always easy… for Jean as well as for me…

Thank you for the images. Yes, I’ve seen them. And I also watched this scene before the interview again. As well as the scene from Two Orphan Vampires. You played the Lady of the Midnight—the Bat Woman with this magnificent costume with big wings. What do you remember of this filming?

I keep good but mixed memories of this filming—except for the appearance that I make in the film.

At the last moment, Jean made me endorse the role of the Lady of the Midnight. It was our chief decorator—Sylvain Montagné—who had designed the bat wings of latex, mesh, and formwork bars normally used in construction.

The wings were too heavy for me. Jean made a note about this. As for the costume, it was me who designed it: I had bought velvet fabric, a little elastic, at the market of Saint-Pierre in Paris. To make it tight, I also had to conserve it.

I remember testing the wings in the setting of the cemetery of Pere Lachaise. Torture. I also remember the prosthetic teeth made for the two actresses and for me at my dental surgeon’s office. What concerns me, I had two wisdom teeth removed which caused a maxillofacial trauma, and the wings that were too heavy fractured me three vertebras. Even today my vertebras are still fractured : I risk to end up in a wheelchair. And I still have the maxillofacial trauma, as my MTJs (mendibo-temporal joints), jaw condyles are damaged and H.S. [medical term—”hora somni” meaning half-strength, bedtime regimen]. Those are the only moments of the filming that were really difficult and painful and aren’t really good memories for me.

Jean was very upset when he learned that I had fractures in the vertebras because of the wings that Sylvain Montagné had made, although he had repeated multiple times to him that it was too heavy for me. It’s during the filming of the scene in the basement of Chateau when the two actresses heard my bones fracturing…

I also fractured both arms. Also, I was on recovery period, as six months earlier I had undergone orthopedic surgery to remove bone tumors in my feet, because of which I wasn’t allowed to run or jump… Those are the film set technicians who placed me on the altar of the chapel of the Château de Noaille and who helped me to come down…

Here is a link to the webpage where you can see me in this costume in the chapel…

I also remember that this filming had been very difficult for Jean because of his dialysis and other health problems.

We filmed in summer that year, it was very hot. The most difficult was in the setting under the marquee of the circus in the XVIII arrondissement of Paris…

It’s also that year, in 1995 that my new position was added to the ones that I already occupied alongside J. Rollin: administrator of the company Les Films ABC™ s.a. following his request. A position of serious responsibilities…

 

Speaking of Jean Rollin's films about vampires, I created these humorous T-shirt designs. T-shirts (as well as many other clothing types) with these designs printed on them are available at my online B-movie T-shirt shop.

Are you still the administrator of the company Les Films ABC?

I’m no longer an administrator of Les Films ABC since November 2013, as the company no longer exists since its legal liquidation, because we couldn’t find a buyer for it.

Serge Rollin couldn’t take over his father’s company either, because of insufficient knowledge of his father’s business. I give him information on the subject when he needs it, because I know a little…

But since the disappearance of Jean and the company, I have no function. I do small things, but it’s not what I do for the living, alas. If I could take over Jean’s company, I would have done it, but I’m not a producer nor an accountant—it’s not my profession.

And moreover, there was a 37 500 € debt on the company for the 35mm zero copy of the film The Night of the Clocks [La nuit des horloges] that stayed due to the Cinedia laboratory. A zero copy of a film costs 50 000 €. A part was settled, but there was still a due. Jean with his company settled it gradually, as those are considerable sums.

It’s starting with the zero copy that all other copies necessary for the release of a film in cinemas, for example, are made. And starting with the negatives of a film, so with the zero copy of the negatives, that all transfers to portable media devices are made, for example for the release on DVD or BluRay, etc… Today, it’s DCP—Digital Cinema Package, digital equivalent of a copy of argentic projection (that exists in a form of 35 mm film argentic coils).

Luckily, if I may say, for Serge Rollin and for myself, the debt was settled in August 2013, three months before the legal liquidation of Jean’s company. The Cinedia laboratory went bankrupt and shut down.

Thank you for sharing this story about your role of the Bat Woman. In fact, tonight, after your previous message, I read it on your site, and I was shocked. I’m so sorry to know that it was so painful and dangerous for your health. And even then, after the editing, you had to jump to retrieve Jean’s check, which was still prohibited by your doctor. Could you, please, share this story about the check with my readers too?

Indeed, the year 1995 was eventful for my health, it wasn’t easy… Later on, either, by the way. Don’t be sorry, Gene. Friendship is not only for good moments—it’s also measured by difficulties. And with Jean, we shared our joys and our difficulties, supporting each other in adversities of our respective health problems…

The story with the check happened after the filming of Two Orphan Vampires and before the film Dracula’s Fiancee. After the release of the film Two Orphan Vampires that came out in 1997, certain rights were retroceded by the financing partner of the film—Lagardère Group. The agreement allowed Jean to recover the rights to his film for 100%. Authorship rights are very regulated in France, just like in the USA that carries the name of © copyright. It was a special agreement between Lagardère Group and Jean Rollin & Les Films ABC, I don’t know the details, but what I am sure about is that a check of an important value, nearly 90 000 € (60 000 FF) was given to Jean.

Jean had a habit to sort his mail by throwing all papers he didn’t consider important and useful on the armchair in front of his own in his living room.

One day, he is calling me distressed, telling me that he couldn’t find the high value check in question anymore. The check was supposed to be used for financing of the film Dracula’s Fiancee.

Part of my job was done at my home office—”Appendix of Les Films ABC” . So I went back to Jean’s home in Paris to help him find this check. We were looking in the whole apartment. I knew that Jean tended sometimes to forget or misplace certain things, as this was the case for his mobile phone that he had placed in the freezer after returning from shopping: I found the phone in the freezer after four hours of search by calling Jean’s phone from mine and hearing a weak sound coming from his freezer. He would lose his glasses as well. Jean tended to misplace many things…

As for the check, I asked him if he couldn’t by any chance, throw the papers in the garbage chute…

We quickly went down—Jean and me, in the basement of his residence, 10 floors down, to look for the latest papers thrown in the trash. There were trash containers placed there, under the garbage chute through which trash fell down from the apartments situated on the nine floors of the building…

We started our search. When I looked up the chute, I noticed a small piece of paper hanging on the edge of one of the holes. I needed to climb something and do multiple jumps to catch this piece of paper hanging above—I didn’t know yet that it was the check.

Jean asked me to grab it. He would always ask me for improbable things. Obviously, we couldn’t wait till the piece of paper would decide to fall itself. I told Jean to watch out, as we were risking to get caught by the security guard who wasn’t an easy and understanding person: we were risking to have problems, and we didn’t want to get noticed while conducting our disastrous search in the trash containers of the basement of Résidence Les Lilas.

Jean turned a container upside down and asked me to climb it, while he was holding it as tight as possible, and to jump until I could manage to grab the paper. In general, this anecdote makes me laugh while I’m telling it, but it’s authentic.

After multiple jumps that were difficult for me, as I shouldn’t have jumped or run or made rapid movements because of my orthopedic health problems, I managed, after the container exploded after my multiple jumping attempts, to grab the small piece of paper that appeared to be the check… We cleaned the check, a bit stained, and we ran to the bank to deposit it. It’s fortunate that we have found it: this check partially financed the film Dracula’s Fiancee .

I have other anecdotes, as funny as this one too, but it’s not the time to tell them yet : they aren’t featured on the site, and I don’t want to tell them for now…

It’s really an incredible and even cinematographic adventure. A small check among the wastes of the whole building, and you found it! I will follow your news for not missing the other anecdotes when it’s the right time for you to share them.

Tell me about the film Et le temps s'en va…! [And the Time Is Running Out…!] by Anissa Berkani-Rohmer where you were the director’s assistant and where Jean Rollin was executive producer. I couldn’ t find enough information about this film.

Et le temps s'en va…! is a short film of eleven minutes made by Jean’s friend in 1991. But it’s not available on DVD. It was available in a bundle with the film by Jean Rollin Lost in New York [Perdues dans New York] on VHS… As for the memories… Here is a link pointing to the dinner celebrating the release of the films on video and of the book…

DVD cover art for Et le temps s'en va…! (that has never been released on DVD) made by Véronique

It’s not a fantasy film. Anissa Berkani-Rohmer makes an appearance in the film Killing Car, and plays in the film Two Orphan Vampires.

I don’t have much to say about this short film. Et le temps s’en va... ! isn’t even mentioned on the official site of Anissa Berkani-Rohmer. This oeuvre is interesting because J. Rollin makes an appearance in the film.

Jean worked as a director of book collection for different editors. At this moment, it was at Éditions Frayeurs~Fleuve noir. To complete the release of different books, Jean had asked certain people of his circle if they would accept to write a story of a fantasy genre.

Anissa Berkani-Rohmer took on writing a novel Catacombes, but she wasn’t really gifted for writing. I remember that we would often return to her home at the end of the day, where Jean would help her with writing her book. Finally, very big passages in this book were written by J. Rollin himself.

After that, there was that party organized in the honor of the release of the book that appeared in the editions of Frayeurs~Fleuve noir Paris and of the release of the film Et le temps s’en va... ! in a bundle with the film Lost in New York on VHS.

You played another role—the violinist in Dracula’s Fiancee. Could you, please, also remember and tell me something about this filming too?

The film Dracula’s Fiancee shot in September-October 1999 and released in August 2002 is of a French-Italian co-production. I remember that Jean had obtained a foreign partner, via one of his international vendors of the film.

Jean, as usual, asked me to make an appearance on this shooting with my violin. I had had my arms broken multiple times, and I had told him that I would never be able to play the violin. I also warned our film score composer and Jean’s friend—Philippe d’Aram—that I couldn’t play the violin. So I’m pretending to be playing and it was necessary to dub it. What’s annoying is that the placement of my fingers doesn’t match the music in the film. It’s a pity, as I had asked for a small headphone to hear this music and place my fingers as well as possible. For once, this embarasses me much.

Once again, I accepted out of pure friendship with Jean, to make an appearance in his film, as I am not an actress, and Jean knew that it was unpleasant for me to be filmed. What Jean liked was, of course, the look I had with my violin. By the way, I never give my permission to be photographed or filmed. Here, it was an exception for Jean’s film as this has been for the previous films…

It’s also on the occasion of this filming that Jean discovered and was stunned by the fact that I didn’t perceive colors like others. I’m not daltonic, it’s another anomaly, a bit complex to describe, but it’s a limitation for a still photographer like myself, which doesn’t prevent me from performing my work.

The filming was also difficult for Jean because of his dialysis sessions… And I remember that for the scenes filmed on the pebble beach in Pourville-les-Dieppe, the nearest hemodialysis center was situated in Rouen, which is very far from the place of the filming, but much closer than the one in Paris. Jean delegated filming of the least complex scenes to his assistant during our absence, as it was me who would take J. Rollin to dialysis. I would wait on the spot (four hours), then I would pick Jean up, and we’d go back to the filming.

I also remember how my car’s starter broke down and I made use of that four hours by repairing my vehicle at a garage during Jean’s dialysis.

It’s the last time, by the way, that Jean asked Brigitte Lahaie to make an appearance in one of his filmings. She hadn’t been very correct with Jean before the filming, and especially after.

I remember that there was some tension between Jean and the actress playing the main role—Cyrille Iste—the daughter of Natalie Perrey. The friendly relationship between Jean Rollin and Natalie Perrey degraded afterwards for other reasons…

Did you have (or do you have now) any other projects apart from the ones with Jean Rollin?

Other projects? Not really.

I did still photographing for a full-length in February 2016. But the film hasn’t been released yet neither in theaters, nor on DVD…

I did small things, but it’s not what I can do for the living. There are other problems too. For example, I’ve been waiting since October 2019 for retrieval of the data from an external drive containing very important files… This is also very expensive. My MacBook Pro was replaced a year ago by Apple, but I’m very deceived. This caused a breakdown of five external drives containing photos of Jean-Loup Philippe and other very important files of his recitals and signings…

And also, I have serious health problems. And moreover, with this problem of COVID-19 nothing is possible anyway at the moment…

What is the title of the film you did still photography for in 2016 and who is the director, if it’s not a secret?

The film is called Judith, by Terry Deprez who is a great fan of Jean Rollin and of his cinema. Here is his Facebook page.

And as for the external drive, are you waiting for the technicians to restore the data? Or do you need to save enough money at first, to order the restoration?

As for the data restoration, I certainly need money, but I also need the technicians to find a replacement for the broken part of the hard drive, which is expensive… to proceed with restoration of the data.

Are you staying in contact with the actors or other colleagues who also worked with Jean Rollin? Who of them are still active as artists? I know that you are friends with Jean-Loup Philippe, for example, and he does theatre.

The actors, not really. There are even people that I decided not to be in contact with.

As for the colleague technicians, some of them are deceased…

Yes, Jean-Loup Philippe does theatre and is also a writer. He did many things, and by his request, I created a website…

Learn More

Website in the memory of J. Rollin created by Véronique.

Website dedicated to a very close friend of Jean Rollin, who is also Véronique’s friend,—Jean-Loup Philippe—co-screenwriter and dialogist of the film Lips of Blood [Lèvres de Sang] who played the role of Frédéric.

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