Back in the Driver’s Seat with Sarah Adler, star of ‘Dead Language’
Sarah Adler joins us to discuss her return to the character of Aya in ‘Dead Language’, the feature-length adaptation of the Oscar-nominated short film ‘Aya’.
In our conversation, Sarah reflects on revisiting a role after more than a decade, exploring how both she and the character have evolved since the original 2012 short. She shares insights into working again with directors Mihal Brezis and Oded Binnun, who made the decision to have her reprise the role despite the time gap—a choice that ultimately served the story’s exploration of how relationships and priorities shift as we age.
We dig into the creative process of expanding a short into a feature, including the dynamics of working with returning cast members like Ulrich Thomsen alongside new additions to the story. Sarah discusses the challenges and rewards of rekindling past on-screen chemistry while building new character connections.
Transcript
You are listening to the we need to Talk About Oscar podcast.
Speaker A:And this is our conversation with Sarah Adler, star of Dead Language, premiering at this year's Tribeca.
Speaker B:You know, this car thing that is the trigger to the rest of the story because we had already gone through it.
Speaker B:The rest of it was a discovery for me as well, and it was new and so that was easier to be in a discovery mode and do this woman's search.
Speaker A:How about we start with a little journey down memory lane since it's been over a decade since I had a short film first at its premiere and Oscar run.
Speaker A:When did conversations about expanding this story into a feature first begin?
Speaker A:And very part of those early discussions actually.
Speaker B:Yes, because the making of the short was actually a sort of a compromise when the initial plan was already to make a long feature film out of this story, which they were finding like a hard time financing, I think, back then.
Speaker B:And so they decided to focus on that part of, of the story and make a short out of it, which was the best decision they, they've made because the film was so, so good and had a beautiful, beautiful past.
Speaker B:So the idea was there initially and then it took so many years because in between they did another feature American movie after the Oscars.
Speaker B:They had, you know, an opportunity and the writing took a long time and financing took a long time.
Speaker B:But all through those years I would have sometimes news from the directors and then with a big gap in between obviously, but.
Speaker B:But yeah, I knew that they wanted to do that.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And then the thing was that so much time had passed that we weren't sure I was still suitable for the film because I had grown.
Speaker B:And initially they did want the character to be more in her early 30s and not to too much of an established life yet or a feeling of someone who's, you know, already like more middle aged.
Speaker B:And so at first they search for someone else to, to be Aya, but I think it was difficult for them to change because this story was so much linked to our sharing and, you know, inhabited with my presence.
Speaker B:And so eventually they did come back, but they, I knew about it and they told me and they were like very transparent and shared about the process and eventually when they couldn't find someone who they felt could like, fill, you know, with the right energy, they came back to me and asked if we could meet and if I could read.
Speaker B:And then I read and they came to meet me in Paris because I had moved to Paris by that time and decided to, you know, to be faithful and to stay with me, and I was very happy to keep going.
Speaker B:It was kind of my baby too, so.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So it turns out there is only one of you.
Speaker B:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker B:It's very strange with that kind of role, especially, you know, to.
Speaker B:To give it into someone else's hands.
Speaker B:But anyway, the whole process was strange for them too, I think, and for me to.
Speaker B:To.
Speaker B:To go back to the same story, you know, and to have to reenact.
Speaker B:It's not as if it was the concept of having time that passes that, you know, that's different.
Speaker B:And there he was, like, doing it again, but with the whole rest coming after.
Speaker A:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker A:Because on that note, you, Uri, the directors, Michal and Oded, have all lived through a decade of change, at least a decade of change between the short and the feature.
Speaker A:But in your opinion, from your experience, how much could the characters stay the same with the passing of time?
Speaker B:Well, I don't know.
Speaker B:I mean, I think they could stay very much the same in a way.
Speaker B:I don't think it's so relevant as far as I'm concerned.
Speaker B:At least I felt that I was, you know, I had changed and I had a different, probably energy and different maturity and more signs of time on my face.
Speaker B:But I think it's not that strong that it really tells a completely different story.
Speaker B:The thing was that what I understand from them also is that in a way, when they decided to make her a bit older, they felt that it actually enriched the process and the story because there was, in a way, more at stake with her marriage, and the relationship that was established was stronger, and it made the odds heavier, like she had more to lose because she was older and the marriage was already, you know, very built.
Speaker B:Whereas if she had been a younger woman, maybe they felt it would not be as much of a engagement to miss out on it or to, you know, stray away from the relationship.
Speaker B:So I think eventually they thought that it was actually a positive change to have her be more mature.
Speaker A:And even though the cast and crew was completed by multiple newcomers.
Speaker A:As for reuniting with the aforementioned people, the directors, Uri, after so many years, was it a case of an immediate click back into these roles, or did you have to mutually rediscover these relationships, these characters?
Speaker B:I felt like with the character, in a way, it was more of an immediate click because I already felt like I knew her.
Speaker B:And also because I know Michael and Odette, the director, as well, by now, when we had worked and shared also moments of life, and I knew there was what they were searching For.
Speaker B:So I felt like it was going back in the shoes that I had been familiar with.
Speaker B:Maybe with Ulrich it was a bit more touchy, you know, to.
Speaker B:To be able to.
Speaker B:To find again what had happened in the first shooting because there was something surprising with him and his presence.
Speaker B:He's a kind of man, which works very well for the character, who's more like quite closed up on the surface.
Speaker B:And then slowly, like in the movie, I felt we uncovered things of him and his spark and his humor and his sensitivity as we shot along with the shooting and along with the.
Speaker B:We had.
Speaker B:The short one was basically shot pretty much in a linear way, I think, not everything, but we.
Speaker B:So as the story evolved, the relationship also between us and his personality sort of emerged.
Speaker B:And that was quite appropriate and magical in the first film.
Speaker B:And when we came back to shoot again, obviously this could not happen again.
Speaker B:And it was hard not to be.
Speaker B:Not to like to try to find the new energy that could happened there, you know, between us and between those characters.
Speaker B:But they searched, they thought about taking, you know, him or someone else, as they did with me.
Speaker B:And eventually I sort of also pushed in his direction because I thought it would be strange to have someone else and I don't know.
Speaker B:I hope it was the right choice.
Speaker A:I think so.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And I'm already a little bit disproving my question and entire idea about how the characters might change or do not change because a big thing that struck me and it is fairly early in the film, so I hope it isn't.
Speaker A:I wouldn't consider it too big of a spoiler, but it is in general the expansion of every aspect of the story, including, of course, the characters.
Speaker A:Take Ulrich's role.
Speaker A:And I'm not only talking about the name change, but, for example, giving him moments like the anxiety attack in the car.
Speaker A:And we've just talked about re.
Speaker A:Establishing these relationships and in terms of this dynamic between Aya and this stranger.
Speaker A:And this is a rather hypothetical question, but where did these newfound vulnerabilities take you?
Speaker B:Yeah, well, I think actually that was probably the hardest part was to.
Speaker B:To.
Speaker B:To have.
Speaker B:It's the part with, you know, this car thing that is the trigger to the rest of the story because we had already gone through it.
Speaker B:The rest of it was a discovery for me as well.
Speaker B:And it was new.
Speaker B:And so that was easier to be in a discovery mode and to go further and do the.
Speaker B:This woman's search and her impulsive kind of behavior, which is not something planned, but something that unfolds out of her, you know, with the opportunities that sort of come up.
Speaker B:But the car thing with that first scene, it was.
Speaker B:It was.
Speaker B:Honestly, it was not so easy for me to release the, you know, all the images and all the things that I liked in the first film and.
Speaker B:And to give up on some of the things that happened which I thought were good, like the piano thing, the playing on the.
Speaker B:On her, you know, on her leg, I thought was like.
Speaker B:It worked really well and gave this kind of spark and opened up this, you know, more of a sensual possibility.
Speaker B:And we didn't have that anymore.
Speaker B:They decided to change, you know, but just.
Speaker B:I think I more like let it also come through.
Speaker B:The things that happened later with him.
Speaker B:I felt like the, you know, the scene where they're watching the horses and, you know, things that were not there before and had this kind of connection bonding effect worked better than maybe the car magic.
Speaker A:Other than Uryk's character, there is not one, but at least two other male characters coming into the story.
Speaker A:And Aya moves through these encounters with different men who are, yeah, all carrying all these mostly unspoken needs and desires.
Speaker A:And this is somewhat of a technical question in terms of acting, but how do you externalize those internal conflicts when so much of your performance has to rely on subtlety rather than dialogue?
Speaker B:Yeah, it's.
Speaker B:It's challenging because they wanted Aya all along to be a very, you know, reserved kind of woman and someone who doesn't dare.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And although she doesn't dare, she does put herself in very daring situations.
Speaker B:So there is a paradox that is not so simple to fulfill.
Speaker B:And she has.
Speaker B:I felt I had to bring something very like both innocent and kind of, I don't know, adventurous.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And I think a lot of it goes through.
Speaker B:Through the eyes and through the, you know, body.
Speaker B:Body language and.
Speaker B:And watching.
Speaker B:I mean, she's.
Speaker B:She observes them a lot and I hope through the way she looks at them, you can see things also about her and also simply through what she does.
Speaker B:I mean, you know, the actions speak for her.
Speaker B:And sometimes I think as actors, you try to charge the character with different behavior, different.
Speaker B:Whether it's, you know, body or attitudes or way of speaking, but.
Speaker B:And it's super important, but.
Speaker B:But also you have to trust the story.
Speaker B:And the story talks for the character and tells things about who that person is.
Speaker B:And so there is a kind of both control and letting go into, you know, into the.
Speaker B:The mise en scene, into the directing and into the situations that, you know, and that trust allows you to.
Speaker B:To serve the Character and the story.
Speaker A:That it goes through, incredibly fascinating.
Speaker A:And other than the private life of Aoda, the extended runtime and the extension of the story allows for us getting to know about her professional life as well.
Speaker A:And of course, I can't not ask you about how in her line of work there is a.
Speaker A:We see slight moments of use of some of the very current technology.
Speaker A:And by that I mean, of course AI and her line of work would, to a point, allow for creativity, not to a level of filmmaking, but still.
Speaker A:And it's of course taken away thanks to this.
Speaker A:But beyond just the story you're telling, where do you see these modern tools taking the industry, filmmaking and your job specifically?
Speaker B:At this point, I'm not confronted by it in my work.
Speaker B:You know, she works in something that is linked to AI and, you know, and probabilities and calculating odds of things.
Speaker B:But it's not, you know, there.
Speaker B:It has another purpose.
Speaker B:And I'm not sure the question is about that or more about, like, as an actor, how it would, you know, threaten.
Speaker B:Well, in her case, the.
Speaker B:The job thing, the choice of that line of work.
Speaker B:I think it's also to show her kind of that she.
Speaker B:She's someone who's very much into something.
Speaker B:She's not very communicative and she's not someone who's very.
Speaker B:Who's very good at human contact in the first place.
Speaker B:And so that's.
Speaker B:I think it's a.
Speaker B:I don't.
Speaker B:I don't remember exactly all what they had intended with that choice, but what I do feel is that it's.
Speaker B:It's a way of telling.
Speaker B:Also her kind of, you know, she's a geek.
Speaker B:You know, it's her geeky side also.
Speaker B:She.
Speaker B:She likes to.
Speaker B:To be logical and to be very specific and like, dive into this world, which doesn't require too much talking, sharing, you know, she's.
Speaker B:She's with the machines and through that, with people like it does.
Speaker B:It's the way she connects to two people in the work.
Speaker B:But it's an odd way.
Speaker B:So it's a way of showing her oddness too.
Speaker B:Then on a more general level, AI for now is not yet reached.
Speaker B:My line of work or the films I work on are not affected by yet as an actor, but if they do, well, that would be unfortunate because, you know, cinema is about feelings and humans.
Speaker B:But I also trust evolution in a way that, you know, what needs to happen will happen and hopefully we'll use it in the best of ways.
Speaker B:And I.
Speaker B:I'm also, you know, if I have to, I'll be happy to do other kind of work too and not remain an actress for the rest of my life.
Speaker B:And that's for me very personally.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Of course, in a more general way, it would be devastating for films and for actors if they were taken over by false, you know, made up creatures.
Speaker A:And sticking with acting and bringing once again back into the conversation the not so talkative, incredibly reserved Aya's surprise situation.
Speaker A:How she forms this instant intimacy with a stranger.
Speaker A:And I don't want to say because they are just not the same.
Speaker A:But you as actors have to create that same connection for the camera at times just as quickly or even in a shorter period of time.
Speaker A:So yeah, even though one is real and one isn't and yet it has to feel real.
Speaker A:So how do these two compare?
Speaker B:Right, interesting.
Speaker B:Well, yeah, I think the fact that what you mentioned about actors and the fact that we have to be very quickly present in intimate situations with people and exposed, but because you're being also watched, probably helped me to incarnate her, to, to, to bring that quality to life in her because it's something that I know how to do and that I like to do.
Speaker B:And I think I even like it myself, Sarah, not only as an actor, it's something that, you know, I think bonding with people is some, sometimes beyond, you know, the obvious necessary steps of formal encounters and sometimes connection happens within, you know, seconds.
Speaker B:And I like that about life and about human beings.
Speaker B:And so I think it gave me the facility, the ease to bring that to her.
Speaker B:And also with her, I think it's, it's her way of.
Speaker B:Because she's not comfortable in a general, you know, as, as habitually comfortable to communicate.
Speaker B:It's the only way, like she has to jump in.
Speaker B:She's already, either she's not communicating at all or if she is, then she will be very pure right away, very real.
Speaker B:And, and she, she doesn't know how to like make pretend.
Speaker B:She doesn't really pretend she's there and she's there and she's real in that moment.
Speaker B:And that's, I think that's the only way she can actually do those things, by being a little over intimate because she's jumping a big, you know, gap for herself.
Speaker A:Love this.
Speaker A:And yeah, I thank you for your time, Sarah, and have a lovely fest and premiere.
Speaker B:Thank you so much.
Speaker B:It was great sharing with you.
