Jaeger-LeCoultre supports the world of cinema and celebrates 10 years of sponsorship with the 72nd Venice International Film Festival
a&e was invited to be part of this event and had the pleasure of meeting Elisa Sednaoui, A model, actress, philanthropist, film director and host of the festival
A multitalented woman you are, modelling, music, movies and a new mom, how do you balance work and motherhood, and what did motherhood add to you as a person?
I think the most important overall is to try and really listen to what you feel inside, besides what others, or society and tradition tells you. Hearing yourself ends up being the basic condition to be able to listen to the other and create the best environment. It also guides you. It is not always easy to balance work life with being a mother. The most important is try to organize your life so you’re serene and avoid that “overwhelming” feeling. I am grateful that my husband and family are very supportive of me working so we all make it work together trying to have fun. There are a lot of things I’m still eager to learn in my profession so I do my best to juggle it all. It’s not always easy, because I would like to spend all the time with my son and my husband and I feel bad when I am not able to. But I know that part of my duty as a mother is in fact the example of womanhood and marriage we give. One thing to say is I believe those first years pass very quickly, you know soon he’ll be in school and will be more “busy”, so I’m being even more selective than usual with every activity I decide to take part in, making sure to have enough peaceful time at home.
Firstly after having a child you start to really learn the meaning of selflessness. Putting other’s people needs in front of yours and feeling joy from it. Motherhood has taught me to be more organised with my time and how to plan things in advance (which I truly never really did before). To work harder in the shorter time available. It teaches you to have more empathy and patience. On the other hand it gives you worries which you didn’t know before, and a new sense of guilt at times. But when your child is joyful or learns a new thing, well, that feeling you cannot compare with anything else.
You were born in Egypt, grew up in Italy and have lived in France and New York, how did that build up your style and character.
The variety of cultures I was exposed to growing up gave me the ability to look at life from different perspectives and a strange, intricate sense of belonging. My parents raised me like a Mediterranean Latino Arab, as we say with my husband, who is half brazilian/half Iraqi but grew up mostly in the UK.
The best part of this “globalized upbringing” is that you can feel at home everywhere and with anyone. You have the ability to adapt to any sort of situation. The “negative” side is sometimes you can feel like you’re always an outsider. You can feel confused on what your true identity is. The key is to understand and to embrace the fact that your uniqueness is what really matters. Life thankfully brings you more and more people like you – this is what I am keen on passing on to my son.
My parents are artists and creative people, and their direction for life was always for the quality of life and the passion and the heart. Choices were never made really for financial or power gain, if that makes sense. That has meant that at times we have struggled.
To be honest, I am so grateful to have experienced “lack of funds” and frustration because I think it has given me a very strong sense of reality and effort and constance. I don’t think anything is owed to me. Things sometimes are given, but mostly they are earned. And this what gave me the push and the empathy to create the Foundation.
I think I bring all of this to style. I am versatile. You’ll see me with jeans and jumper, a black suit, an evening gown, a long kaftan dress. I try to be as comfortable as possible.
You established a charity foundation for children. Can you tell us about this project and how you started it. Did you face any obstacles along the way?
My dream goal is to create a sustainable cultural center which provides daily after school classes to kids between the age of 6 and 16, which focus on the Arts and on culture in the broad sense: painting, photography, acting, music, to how to make garbage your ally instead of a weight, crafts, languages, literacy would be part of it. This center will be run by locals. We currently have trained 10 adults in Luxor, Egypt. They are trained to be creative facilitators in Arabic.
We are starting our first 2 weekly classes in January for a 3 months term. If everything goes well we will add another class for another 3 months term.
Elisa Sednaoui who looked radiant wearing a precious Rendez-Vous Ivy Secret watch from Jaeger-LeCoultre.
I hope to then be able to replicate this model around the world. The necessity to do this type of work is relevant in both the so-called “developed countries” and the “developing countries”, because for different reasons many children, whether they are in “disadvantaged” situations or not, are in need of being exposed to the arts and having access to a space where they express their feelings, and dream big. One of the problems I see for example in the Western world, without having any pretension of being an analyst of any shape, is that children are growing up with the heaviness of the disappointment of the economic crisis which has affected us all in the last years. This pushes them to make “survival” choices which don’t allow the development of their “better” qualities or simply what would make them “happy”.
Also many young people are confused about celebrity, as if that was the only goal to look towards. Celebrity for no reason. One other point is the professional world which is truly changing, also thanks to the global connectivity. We are overwhelmed with possibilities but in many countries there is a detachment between what we are really prepared for in schools and the services that are required today. Have you noticed how we are constantly creating new type of job positions? There is so much potential. We need to be given the tools to make the best of them. The point of the Foundation is not that the kids should be taught only to “be artists”. But, again Art can open their perspectives.
I took the leap to start the Foundation as I was pregnant of my son Jack. I have always had the dream to work in the social field. As a little girl, I didn’t really dream of becoming an actress or a model, I wanted to become a diplomat – a cultural attaché of some sort. “Talent is equally distributed in the world. It is the opportunities that are not” said Bill Clinton.
With a friend I started writing down the ideas and looked for people to help me, to guide me a little. Some people proved to be more helpful than others, and we are strengthening our production and organizing skill, our policies.. That is the challenging part, deciding what is fair, finding and motivating the people, and discern what the priorities are.
Of course it’s challenging to fundraise as well, in a world that faces so many issues. But we’ve truly been so overwhelmed by the warmth and the reaction of people to the project.
The world is really ready for change!
Rendez-Vous Ivy Secret watch from Jaeger-LeCoultre
Today we live in a time where social media has a massive impact on inspiring youth yet sometimes they are being mislead by the wrong role models, what can you tell them to watch out for as you were in the spotlight since a young age.
Be genuine, be respectful, be kind. Kindess generates kindness. Don’t be over-impressed by celebrities. Always look at the soul and the heart of those you meet on the journey.
We are here in Venice for the film festival, tell us about your passion for this industry, how it started and what are your plans that revolve around it.
What I like about cinema is its ability, with its universal language, its stories, its characters, to seduce us, make us dream and in addition it can help us understand the reasons of extreme behavior; make us discover the fragility and humanity that lurks even in controversial characters with their deep desire, which ultimately unites us, to be seen, loved and respected.
I don’t like the cinema industry at all. I find it quite corrupt. It is so difficult for a film to be seen!
Festivals are fun because you get to spend some time with extremely talented and sometimes lovely people, but otherwise there is a lot of ego, superficiality, and insecurities.
I started working as an actress by curiosity for a new experience. I was modeling knowing that it wasnt really my ultimate goal. So when an acting agent asking me to do the casting that resulted in my first film, I was just curious. After 6 feature films and many other short projects, I know I enjoy acting, but in small doses. I enjoy more acting since I had a child because I am less scared to make mistakes. I don’t want to act fulltime and I’m not doing auditions all the time. Its always about the project, the role, the people, the moment. I have started working on a project that I would be producing and writing, perhaps directing. I like to direct short things. I have a special video project coming out soon in collaboration with Vogue Italia and an American brand in which I act in. I guess that form will always be a constant part of my life somehow.
Who is an actor that you’d love to play a role next to?
Meryl Streep.
What’s your favourite movie and why?
Natural Born Killers by Oliver Stone for the story, the humour, the photography, the music, and the actors.
What do you think the movie industry still lack?
Transparency. Equality. Honesty. Justice.
What’s your favourite watch from the Jaeger-LeCoultre collection of timepieces?
It’s hard to choose, I love them all, the Reverso styles, with simpler leather bracelets, to the most sophisticated ones, with diamonds and incredible detail of work. I have a weakness for the vintage pieces! They are so elegant, minimal but rich.
What do you love most about working with the brand?
It has always been a pleasure to work with its representants, who have shown to be extremely elegant in their approach. I like that the brand is so implicated in supporting the Arts, with the different sponsorships and their gaze towards many different types of sports, the maintenance of monuments, the promotion of culture such as their partnership with the Venice Film Festival.
What are 3 must have items you are getting for your closet this fall?
Rodarte high waist blue jeans, White Altuzarra Knit Long Sleeves, Charlotte Olympia Leopard print trainers shoes or white slow pair with red lip on front .
What is your personal motto?
Treat others the way you’d like to be treated.
Interviewed by Lara Mansour Sawaya
