Searches for “Anamaria Vartolomei interview” have spiked for a reason. The Romanian-born French actor, born in 1999, carried “Happening” – Audrey Diwan’s adaptation of Annie Ernaux’s 2000 memoir – with a performance that shook festival rooms and, quietly, audiences at home. The film won the Golden Lion at the 78th Venice International Film Festival in September 2021, and Anamaria Vartolomei followed with a César Award for Most Promising Actress in 2022. That is the context. That is the pressure.
When Anamaria Vartolomei sits down for interviews, the through line is work. Not noise, not myth. Work. She debuted on screen in 2011 in Eva Ionesco’s “My Little Princess” alongside Isabelle Huppert, then stacked roles until “Happening” demanded everything. Set in 1963, the story’s urgency met a young actor ready to carry it, and the industry took notice. Annie Ernaux later received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2022 – a separate event, yet the same orbit of stories about a woman’s body and choice. It all adds weight to what Vartolomei picks up when the camera starts.
Anamaria Vartolomei interview : the frank voice behind a defining role
The main question fans bring to an interview is simple : how did she do it. The answer rarely fits in a sound bite. Vartolomei tends to describe preparation as a mix of reading, repetition, and a stubborn focus on the character’s everyday gestures. Nothing theatrical. She speaks about the time before set – the rehearsal rooms, the tests, the long days that never make a press kit but shape what ends up on screen.
There is another thread : responsibility. “Happening” adapts a book that already changed lives, and it demanded precision. Diwan’s directing style, intimate and relentless, left little space to hide. Interviews after Venice 2021 underlined this point with dates and facts. The film’s world premiere in early September placed Vartolomei in a spotlight that had been building for a decade. She was 22 when the César recognition arrived in February 2022 – a young age, yes, but not an overnight story.
Viewers search for tips from actors. She rarely prescribes, yet the clues are there. Holding a scene with silence. Understanding stakes without pushing emotion. Staying curious. For those who beleive that a festival prize is a finish line, her answers feel like a corrective : the win is public, the craft is private.
From “My Little Princess” to Venice 2021 : a decade of work, not luck
Let’s anchor the timeline. 2011 : “My Little Princess”, a debut that put a teenager opposite one of France’s most decorated performers. 2020 : a role in “How to Be a Good Wife” by Martin Provost, carrying period detail and ensemble timing. 2021 : “Happening”, Venice’s top award and a global rollout that stretched into 2022. These are not random steps but steady ones.
Context matters. The 78th Venice International Film Festival turned into a hinge moment for the film. A Golden Lion is not just an accolade – it is a signal to distributors and programmers. It put Vartolomei in front of critics and audiences across markets that might never have watched a small French drama about 1963. Then the 47th César Awards in 2022 placed her name in French cinematic history books with Most Promising Actress. Numbers and dates do not tell the whole story, yet they track momentum precisely.
Interviews from this period often return to adaptation fidelity. Annie Ernaux wrote the memoir in 2000, capturing a time when abortion was illegal in France. Playing a student in that context required research and restraint, and Vartolomei’s answers rarely drift into abstraction. She keeps it concrete : the body’s limits, the camera’s proximity, the need to protect the character’s dignity across the shoot.
Technique, choice of roles, and what comes next for Anamaria Vartolomei
Where does the craft go from here. Interviews post-awards open that door, gently. One theme stands out : range without noise. Vartolomei seems to value roles that test endurance and detail rather than volume. Off set, she points to reading, rehearsing, sometimes rewatching rushes to understand what the camera kept and what it refused. No shortcuts. No magic fix.
There is a practical takeaway for readers who track careers. Dates matter in an actor’s journey. Ten years separate “My Little Princess” – 2011 – and Venice 2021. One year later, in 2022, the César arrives. Alongside that, Ernaux’s Nobel Prize in October 2022 pushes “Happening” back into conversation. Interviews during these months often bridge those milestones to show how a project lives beyond its release window. That is useful if you seek the next role : look for filmmakers building worlds with the same precision – the kind that trusts an actor to carry silence, not just lines.
What remains open in many interviews is the question of scale. Does she chase bigger productions or stay close to intimate sets where a close-up can hold a story for minutes. The answer tends to be pragmatic : pick scripts that ask real questions and offer a director with a clear eye. For now, the most honest action for readers is simple – revisit the performances that built the present. “My Little Princess” to understand the foundation. “How to Be a Good Wife” to watch ensemble calibration. “Happening” to see the risk that changed the temperature of a career in 2021 and, by 2022, placed Anamaria Vartolomei among the names to watch.