What is the best thing that I love about my work? As a writer, what I love the most about my work is to arouse emotions through the magic of words. Being paradoxically truly myself through the lives of others. Being there and somewhere else, me and someone else. Travelling in souls and thoughts. And in my other activity, I love to share my passion for movies and make people discover some films and filmmakers.
What is my idea of happiness? Writing. Paradoxically, escape from the present and embrace the present. Otherwise, fleeting and precious moments which make me feel really alive, living in the present…
What is my greatest fear? Lose the people I love, and see them suffer. Lose passion and enthusiasm which drive me. And the desire to get up and dream despite the wounds of life.
What is the trait that I most deplore in myself? The excessive sensitivity that makes what barely touches others can hurt me deeply, nevertheless it also helps to write. And always chasing an inaccessible perfection…which makes me my worst enemy !
Which living persons in my profession do i most admire? Those who find their voice and follow their path to achieve their dreams despite obstacles.
What is my greatest extravagance? To have the madness to write and the madness to think that other mad people will read my stories, and to follow my passions, for cinema and writing, when I could have made in a career in Law.
On what occasion would I lie? I think that life in reality is often a lie, not a willful lie, but a lie linked to the impossibility of finding the right note. Fiction helps me to find the perfect word and to approach the truth. Otherwise, I try not to lie too much, except to myself, perhaps, like everyone, to face the difficulties of life or to protect someone.
What is the thing that I dislike the most in my work? When my editor asks me to delete a character or even a sentence or a word.
When and where was I the happiest, in my work? When my stories met the sensibility of readers, and have moved them. When I met readers. When characters suddenly seem to have a life of their own. And in my other activity, sharing my passion for cinema. And succeed in making the people who read me want to see a film that I talked about.
If I could, what would I change about myself? Things that couldn’t be change…
What is my greatest achievement in work? I hope it hasn’t arrived yet ! Having managed not to betray myself even if the road to achieve my dreams is longer. Being published, which was my childhood dream ! And every time my texts moved readers or every time my texts are rewarded, it reassures me and it means that I haven’t completely chosen the wrong way.
Where would I most like to live? I like my life in the center of Paris in the district of Saint-Germain-des-Prés but I look forward to live by the sea soon, in France in this life, and in another life in Greece, the other country of my heart, on an island like Paros. But in this life, I like too much my country to live in another one !
What is my most treasured possession? Freedom.
What is my most marked characteristic? I’m an incorrigible dreamer. But a lucid dreamer.
What is my favorite place to eat and drink, in my city? Museums and all the timeless places where I can let my imagination wander and which have inspired so many creators over the centuries that they give the feeling of crossing their souls and traveling in time and in fiction. Jardin du Luxembourg. Jardin du Palais Royal. Rue de Furstemberg. To drink : Café de la Mairie (Paris 6), Café des Editeurs (Paris 6), Les Deux Magots (Paris 6), Hôtel Lutetia (Paris 6). To eat : the brasseries that make me feel in a Claude Sautet’s movie like Vagenende (Paris 6). And Marco Polo (Paris 6), Café de La Paix (Paris 9), Aux prés (Paris 6), Evi Evane (Paris 6). And hotels like The George V and the Ritz to feel out of time…or in a movie !
What books influenced my life and how? All Balzac’s books that in my childhood made me addicted to reading and made me want to write.
You Only Die Once. What music would I listen on my last day? For me, life cannot exist without music to beautify and sweeten it. Perhaps I would choose a music that celebrates life, both with joy and melancholy, like Greek music or a movie soundtrack to be for the last time as you say « the storyteller of my own life ». Or a bad music which would make life (and music) less regrettable !
Who is my hero or heroine in fiction? So many… Characters who follow their dreams, who fight for their dreams and ideas. If I had to choose one… Martin Eden (the hero of Jack London), a passionate being who (like living people I admire) tried ardently to achieve his dreams.
Who are my heroes and heroines in real life? My father who fought cancer with exemplary courage, a battle that the disease has won. And my wonderful mother who accompanied him to the end of her own strength as few people would have done. And those who dedicate their lives to caring for others. Those who keep their part of childhood and do not give in to bitterness despite the trials of life.
Which movie would i recommend to see once in a lifetime? All Claude Sautet’s films (especially « Les choses de la vie », « Un cœur en hiver »…), Jean-Pierre Melville (« Le Samouraï », « Le Cercle rouge », « L’armée des ombres »), Visconti (« Le Guépard », « Rocco et ses frères », « Ludwig »), Hitchcock (« Les Enchaînés », « La mort aux trousses » ), « Match point » de Allen, « La règle du jeu » de Renoir, « Les Enfants du Paradis » de Carné, « Monsieur Klein » de Losey, « Sur la route de Madison » d’Eastwood, « Casablanca » de Curtiz, and many of films by Almodovar, Truffaut, Chaplin, Coppola, Spielberg, Wilder, Leone, Ozon, Dolan, Gray, Kore-eda, Resnais…Impossible to choose one !
What role play stories in my life and work? The first one !
What do the words ‘You are the storyteller of your own life’ to me? This could be my motto… and it’s also the subject of my last novel.
Who is my greatest fan, sponsor, partner in crime? It’s a secret !
Which people or companies would I like to work with in 2022? The publisher who has put an option on the previously mentioned novel… but I can’t name him. It’s too soon and not official !
What project, in 2022, am I looking forward to work on ? The adaptation of one of my text on a screenplay. Write a new novel and lots of short stories. Find an editor for my other books. And continue to talk and dream cinema where I could and continue to live to the rhythm of my passions.
Where can you see me or my work in 2022? My blog (http://inthemoodforcinema.com) on which you will find all my movie reviews and the links to my published books and texts, like the last one (Editions J’ai Lu) which make you travel in Corfou. My instagram : @sandra_meziere My twitter : @Sandra_Meziere. My author profil on the new essential website for editors and writers, « Édith & Nous », with my literary projects and my literary prizes : https://www.edithetnous.com/p/Sandra%20-M%C3%A9zi%C3%A8re%20-2IDALLhYisUs2Ko6eYfMn10DWz53 My podcast In the mood for cinema : https://open.spotify.com/show/6T8RrQQVBR2bJZlK8ZH0cX
What do the words “Passion Never Retires” mean to me? The purpose of my life ! Passions guide my life and I hope that will always be like this.
Which creative professionals should Peter invite to tell their story? I have chosen 4 women who have atypical backgrounds, who have fought to realize their dreams or defend their ideas : Line Toubiana (teacher, writer, co-founder of the Citizenship Prize at the Cannes Film Festival), Nathalie Sénécal (drawer and entrepreneur), Sophie Dancourt (founder of her own media and writer), Sabrina Van Tassel (filmmaker).
How can you contact me? Linkedin : https://fr.linkedin.com/in/sandrameziere Facebook : https://fr-fr.facebook.com/sandra.meziere Blog : http://inthemoodforcinema.com
The Heroine's Journey 