If she now resides in Paris, Charlotte Gainsbourg has long lived in New York City. Not by professional obligation but by choice. After a terrible ordeal experienced by the actress, the latter preferred to take off to rebuild. A difficult decision that made her feel very guilty.
This March 2, 2023 marks the anniversary of the death of Serge Gainsbourg. His daughter Charlotte, born to his love affair with Jane Birkinchose to pay homage to him by making 5 bis rue Verneuil, his last residence, a museum for the many fans of the late artist. The opportunity to immerse yourself in the memories and artistic heritage of his famous dad. But this disappearance is not the only one Charlotte Gainsbourg had to deal with in his lifetime.
Almost ten years ago, the companion of Yvan Attal made the decision to leave Paris to settle in New York. A necessary choice for her well-being and her balance, she who had just lost her half-sister Kate Barry. The photographer is dead after falling from the balcony of the new apartment she occupied in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. She was 47 years old. This disappearance, Charlotte Gainsbourg never really recovered, which is why she settled in The Big Apple to rebuild herself.
But this new life, Charlotte did not necessarily live it well right away. In an interview with the magazine Marie Clairethe mother of Ben, 25, Alice, 20 and Jo, 11 shared the feeling she felt towards her mother when she left Paris: “I lived in New York with great guilt in me for having gone there when we had just lost my sister, therefore her daughter, as if I had abandoned my mother to save myself.“To see the complicity they have displayed at the Cesar ceremonyJane Birkin did not hold it against her.
A touching documentary for Jane
If mother and daughter were present at the Olympia on February 24, it was to represent Jane by Charlotte, documentary by Charlotte Gainsbourg on her mother. A way for the actress to be a little forgiven for her departure and to make up for lost time: “My first impetus was not to make a film about her. […] At first, I just wanted to spend time with her, enjoy watching her… While realizing that I had never allowed myself that, watching her, there is so much modesty between us.”
If she did not win the César in the Best Documentary category, Charlotte Gainsbourg did not win anything: “I had to give myself the right not to lower my eyes, to scrutinize her, to deepen my gaze. I didn’t learn anything about her, that wasn’t the goal, but I learned to put our relationship into words.“A precious bond, that’s for sure.
