Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1262492
56 C I N E M O N T A G E F E A T U R E is an interesting case in that it has very little dialogue, but when its protagonist, Sylviane, finally speaks at the end, she pours out her soul in an extended mono- logue in French to the man at the retreat for whom she has developed feelings without ever sharing a word. It was a departure for the series and a particular challenge for Erb who, with numerous characters and storylines to follow, was greatly concerned with maintaining clarity and keeping an audience engaged. making sure you would feel a personal connection to each story, and our direc- tors were essential in that regard. As an editor, I felt I had to focus on depicting our characters with honesty and to be mindful of the tone. And if we managed not to get in the way of the emotion, not to feel manipulative, then we'd be in a good place from one episode to the next, regardless of how different the stories were." Cultural accuracy and voice aside, an unexpected challenge for some of the editors proved to be cutting dialogue in a language that they do not speak. For "The Son," Erb worked with two different translators who spoke Arabic and a cultural advisor who made sure the songs chosen didn't have lyrics that could offend. For "The Silence," about a French woman who falls in love at a silent retreat, she relied on colleagues Brisson, who comes from France, and Rasula, who is also fluent in French. The episode, written and directed by Heder, Kemiyondo Coutinho and Innocent Ekakitie in "Little America." P H O T O : U N I V E R S A L T E L E V I S I O N Geraud Brisson.