“La Grâce, le Mérite et la Liberté” de Karim Zeriahen

La Grâce, le Mérite et la Liberté
Karim Zeriahen’s documentary on Marie-Laure de Noailles.
52 min

A free film
At a time when a real conservative resurgence is occurring and cancel culture is emerging in the West, it seems pertinent to shed light on one of the indispensable and symbolic figures of opening minds through the courageous avant-garde pursuit of the early twentieth century: Marie-Laure de Noailles. It would be paradoxical to portray Marie-Laure de Noailles in an academic manner, to conform to a mold, or to follow the well-trodden path of the classical documentary production, because beyond depicting the portrait of the greatest French patron of the 20th century, this film is about the very idea of non-conformity, difference, free thought, and beauty in art.

The challenge is to create a new form of documentary faithful to its subject, incorporating multiple archives, testimonials, and animation evoking the past and history in a parallel line with a second one, turned towards the present, giving room for the artist’s expression and recounting a creation that is entirely contemporary while paying homage to the essence of the Noailles legacy.

It is, therefore, a living film directed towards today, liberated from standard broadcasting codes, nourished by the past, and heading towards a wealth of diverse, poetic, historical, and playful elements. The heart of these intersections resides at Villa Noailles, an iconic place of creation, celebration, lightness, dreamed and created by the Noailles for and with artists. The spirit of the Noailles is truly embodied in this place, characterized by benevolence and generosity towards those who push boundaries and channel the spirit of the times by creating timeless fragments of poetry.

Marie-Laure, with her social grace, audacity, loyalty, social influence, and fortune, managed to create, along with her husband Charles, a sort of French philanthropic philosophy. When Marie- Laure de Noailles, with the support of her husband Charles, decided to build one of the most iconic villas of their century on the heights of Hyères in 1923 and entrusted this highly ambitious project to a then-unknown architect, Robert Mallet-Stevens, it was evident that what primarily drove them at that moment was the idea of transcending boundaries, thinking of modernism without barriers, and fostering creative conviviality. It was also a concrete embodiment of their philanthropic idea by granting complete freedom to creation and a dominant place to artists, firmly believing that life could be reinvented by them and truths could be revealed. The very idea of freedom is at the heart of the Noailles’ thinking, especially in the mind of Marie-Laure. It is an engaged, libertarian, sometimes eccentric, possibly provocative, and above all generous philosophy.

An ode to freedom to celebrate the centenary of Villa Noailles.

Director: Karim Zeriahen
Featuring: Anna Mouglalis
Original Soundtrack: Frédéric Sanchez
Animations : Francisco Bianchi
Contributors: Jean-Pierre Blanc, Pascale Mussard, Eléa Legangneux, Laurent Lebon, Adel Abdessemed, Olivier Gabet, Sophie Bramly, Paul Audi, François Chaignaud, Vincent Huguet, Pierre Yovanovitch, Emilie Hammen, François-Marie Banier, Cécile Briolle
Cinematography: Léo Monnet, Adrien Tabardon