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Brina Svit regarding her arrival in France

22 mars 2006
03m 01s
Ref. 00344

Information

Summary :

Slovenian writer Brina Svit brings up her discovery of the French language, thanks to her French teacher in Ljubjana who taught her this language through the study of plays, as well as her arrival in Paris.

Media type :
Vidéo
Broadcast date :
22 mars 2006
Source :
France 2 (Collection: Des mots de minuit )
Personnalité(s) :
Brina Svit / Philippe Lefait / Henri (de) Montherlant
Themes :
Places :

Context

Brina Svit (born in 1954), Slovenian writer, arrived in Paris in 1980 to continue her studies of French literature that she began in the Slovenia.

A journalist for the Slovenian daily Delo, Scriptwriter, short film director, she published four novels written in Slovenian (of which Death of a Prima Donna in 2001) then three in French: Moreno (2003), Un coeur de trop (2006) and Coco Dias ou la Porte Dorée (2007). The latter was based on an autobiographical episode: to learn to dance the tango, the narrator, Valérie Nolo, promised a Parisian tango dancer, Orlando Dias, known as Coco Dias, to exchange dance lessons against a book about him. Between Paris and Buenos Aieres, this romanticised biography evokes the art of abrazo, entwined dancers, harmony between the body and soul.

Brina Svit's novels are imprinted with Slovenian nostalgia and tender humour.

Aurélia Caton

Transcription

Philippe Lefait
We're going to start with you, Brina Svit, and maybe ask you 2 questions. The first one is about the fact that you learned a first sentence in French, which is very beautiful: "I'm as solid as the Pont Neuf." That's a phrase that your teacher planted in your head. First question: where did it come from, and why are you as solid as the Pont Neuf? And Svit... Because the meaning of the term is too beautiful for us to not stop there? It's too beautiful...
Brina Svit
I started to learn French in secondary school, and in secondary school, we had a theatrical troupe that was run by a teacher that was well known in Lubjana, a very good French teacher whose name is Mrs. Sayel and who is still alive. And so, myself, I was a member of this troupe, and we did plays in French. We rehearsed them all year long, and towards the end, we played them in front of a real audience.
(Silence)
Brina Svit
And this reply, it's a reply by Montherlant in "Port-Royal". And it's true that at the time, my French was very delicate. In fact, it was quite the opposite of the Pont Neuf. During those days, I didn't know Paris, the Pont Neuf even less, and I tried to give this reply with lots of composure. And it's true that today, every time that I...
Philippe Lefait
How old are you?
Brina Svit
I was 17 years old, and it's true that now, every time that I pass under the Pont Neuf on my bike, I think about it.
Philippe Lefait
Svit?
Brina Svit
Svit, that's my stage name.
Philippe Lefait
Svit?
Brina Svit
Svit, that's right.
Philippe Lefait
Is that Slovene?
Brina Svit
It's Slovene and it means dawn.
Philippe Lefait
The time when birds stop singing.
Brina Svit
Yes, it's the... it's actually the... the very first light of the morning.
(Silence)
Philippe Lefait
Those were 2 biographical reference points. Bonus question: How did you wind up in France, where you've now been living for over twenty years?
Brina Svit
It's very simple, I met my husband, I was his interpreter in Lubjana, I was 23 years old at the time. He offered to come live with me in Lubjana, but I told myself: A poor Frenchman in Lubjana, he's going to be completely lost. And I spoke French, more or less, so I don't know why, I figured that for me, leaving for Paris... I figured that it wasn't too far away, and I didn't realise the break that it was going to be for me, and that it wouldn't be as easy as that. Because in the beginning, it wasn't that easy. Not at all.