Anne-Sophie Dutoit

An exceptional talent in the land of the stars

Anne-Sophie Dutoit is 17. She's pursuing studies in psychology not far from Hollywood In Santa Monica where she has been living the last 4 years with her family. And she's just wrapped up production of a feature film.

We asked her a few questions so you could get to know her.

Anne-Sophie, can you tell us about your movie, Faded Memories?
It's the story of Cassandra, a girl who has a very particular phobia…the fear of being touched. Cassandra meets a guy who is going to help her see things differently and meeting him is completely going to change her life, for better and for worse. It's a romance story.

How did you manage to direct your own feature film at 17?
I'd already directed a short film that had won several awards in international film festivals. Faded Memories was already written, but I had to prove to film industry people that I could write, direct and act in a film all at the same time. I'm the one who plays Cassandra in Faded Memories. So I wrote a short film that was inspired by the feature film, Kara's File, and made it over a weekend. Then I sent copies of it to investors who liked it and gave me a little money to produce it. And then I went to other people and told them about the original investors who had faith in me, and so on and so forth, and finally put together the money I needed to make it, about $1 million.

"…I had to prove to film industry people that I could write, direct and act in a film all at the same time."

How old were you when you first became interested in film?
I've been making films since I was little. When I was 7 I was already "organizing" films that I shot with my friends. I just didn't know at the time that what I was doing was directing. I was doing it just for fun.

But it's really at age 14, when I went to the New York Film Academy, a school located on the Universal Studios lot in Los Angeles, that I began to take it seriously. I learned to direct, but also all the steps required to make a film. For our end-of-the-year film, we had to do a one-minute short with an actor. I shot a 7-minute film with 10 actors in 4 hours. The teachers didn't want me to do it, but I knew I could do it. I sent Marked - that's the name of the film - to several festivals and it won awards in London and Florida. It was really fun. I got to travel because of my film. Marked is the story of a girl who gets raped, the story of how she starts seeing life differently after she's raped. It's a dramatic film.

Where do you draw your inspiration when you write a film script?
I get inspired by the people I know and their stories. In Faded Memories, for example, the idea for the main character, a girl who doesn't want to be touched, came from a little girl I used to baby sit when I was younger.

How does it feel to know that your first feature film is going to hit the big screen?
I don't know how to feel! I'm passionate about what I do. Just directing the film is already a great source of accomplishment to me. The fact that it's going to be released is just a bonus!

How long did it take you to write the script for Faded Memories? I write really fast! The first version of Faded Memories took me 3 days. Then I refined the script over a period of about 2 months.

How much time do you spend working on films each week?
I write every night. Sometimes I wake up at night with ideas. I get up and write them down on a piece of paper so I don't forget them. My schedule is very different when I'm shooting. We work really long days. We get up around 5:00 or 6:00 a.m. and work until 10:00 p.m. or even midnight. That's why I'm taking Web-based courses, they're more flexible.

Do you have time for other activities? Leisure?
Yes! I really like hiking in the forest and mountain biking. And like all girls my age I like to go shopping, dancing, and going out with my friends.

Do you have new projects in mind?
Yes, 2 of them. I'm currently working on a second feature film called Blue Winter. I'd like to shoot it in October. I also got asked to direct a film for a Hollywood studio, but I can't really talk about it yet. All I can say is that it's going to be very different from my other 2 films. Since it's a big film, we'll be in pre-production for at least another year. The movie won't come out until 2010.

It seems strange to ask you what your dream come true would be, since it's as if you've already done it. Do you have one?
What I'd like is to have my own production company and to make films that inspire and speak to people. I want to make films with a message and get involved in causes. For example, right now I give handicapped children the opportunity to play roles in each of my films. In my last film, there's a little autistic girl and another handicapped child. They were so happy to work on the film. I really like to help people achieve their dreams. I'm truly convinced that nothing in life is impossible. If you have a dream, you can achieve it, no matter what the obstacles are. I'm proof!

To find out more, go to the following sites: annesophiefilms.com and myspace.com/annesophiefilms.