"Cinema Is an Art of Uncertainty": Denis Côté on Subversive Desires, Sound, and Radical Independence

Denis Côté is a Canadian independent filmmaker, producer, and former film critic from Quebec. A staple of the international festival circuit—including Berlin, Locarno, and Sundance—Côté has built an uncompromising body of work that blurs the boundary between observational documentary and surrealist narrative fiction.
On Blurring Fiction and RealityQueerFilmHub: Your filmography frequently operates in the space between documentary realism and stylized fiction. How do you decide when a story requires a naturalistic observational lens versus a surrealist, structured narrative?
Denis Côté: That’s a very interesting question, even a challenging one. I started out making fairly realistic films, then began experimenting with more stylized work. Sometimes I want to surrender to reality, while at other times I trust it less and feel the urge to shake it up.
For example, when I made a documentary about bodybuilding, I felt I was dealing with a rather ordinary subject. I had to find clever ways to breathe new life into that familiar territory. These days, I want to move away from naturalism and reality itself. I want to bend and distort just about everything, without drifting into science fiction or overly dystopian worlds. Working with small budgets pushes me to be inventive.
On Depicting Intimacy and Subversive Relationships
QueerFilmHub: In films like Vic + Flo Saw a Bear and That Kind of Summer, you portray complex, non-stereotypical dynamics of desire and connection. How do you approach directing actors to achieve such raw, unvarnished emotional truth on screen?
Denis Côté: With both films, I enjoyed walking a tightrope. I'm a heterosexual man who chose to explore sensitive subjects. I had to consult extensively with female collaborators and surround myself with women in key department head positions. The actresses read every version of the scripts and were invited into the editing room. I even worked with female sexologists.
In the end, the films are raw, but as psychologically precise as I could possibly make them. I feel a great sense of responsibility toward these films, and they haven't pleased everyone, particularly those who are overly concerned with judging the merits or shortcomings of my perspective. It's a dangerous game, but I have to take responsibility for my choices and assert my own artistic voice. Actors and actresses are always remarkably open to the process.
On Spatial Atmosphere and Minimalist FramingQueerFilmHub: Static compositions, long takes, and deliberate soundscapes are signature elements of your visual language. How do physical landscapes and quiet environments inform the way you construct tension and character psychology?
Denis Côté: I put a lot of thought into my visual approach, but over time, I've become obsessed with sound. To me, the image must constantly collide with the authority of sound. It's not something I always intellectualize with my editors, but it's practically impossible for me to think of sound as merely an accompanying or decorative element in my films.
Sound is either an in-your-face thing or it is playing games offscreen. These days, I treat it as a character in its own right, pushing it at times to the limits of plausibility. In an environment that appears calm or bucolic, I need to convince myself that there's chaos to be found. And vice versa. These collisions are essential to creating a dynamic cinematic language and a psychologically unstable world for the characters. I like the idea of sound putting them in danger. I don't know if any of this makes sense!
On Navigating Freedom in Independent Quebecois CinemaQueerFilmHub: You maintain a remarkably prolific and uncompromising body of work. What are the biggest challenges and rewards of remaining fiercely independent in today’s European and North American festival circuit?
Denis Côté: I can never really explain how I've managed to be so prolific. I find it hard to believe that I live with this sense of creative urgency, but strangely enough, I do. I have no children, no house, no car, not even a driver's license. I have the privilege of waking up every morning and thinking about nothing but cinema, or how to twist the world around me into cinematic objects.
I'm impatient, and I find ways to shoot quickly, across a wide range of budgets. I have a great deal of freedom, and I rarely seek other people's opinions when creating something. With this kind of philosophy, this way of working, I can remain fiercely independent, but it also leads to impulsive films. These aren't films calculated to "succeed." Most of the time, they're simply festival films, and that's about it.
On the Role of Observation in Modern Auteur FilmQueerFilmHub: At QueerFilmHub, we celebrate films that challenge traditional tropes. In an era dominated by high pacing and explicit explanation, what do you feel is the power of letting a film simply observe its characters without offering easy answers?
Denis Côté: Many of us filmmakers want to open up spaces for reflection and let the world in without passing judgment on it. We have a responsibility to show life as it unfolds (in documentary) or to imagine it in ways that move beyond the banality of everyday existence (in fiction). Through observation or a reinterpretation of the world, we must give birth to a strong vision, one that doesn't seek to teach the audience a lesson or impose a particular way of thinking. We should be opening doors, not closing them.
A filmmaker is a guide or a thinker, not a teacher assigning homework to an audience of students. I'm bored by filmmakers who use cinema as a weapon or as a means of changing the world. Occasionally, and these are exceptional cases, a film can genuinely make a difference, perhaps even save something somewhere. But otherwise, virtuous art leaves me cold. Cinema is an art of uncertainty, a journey into the dark.
Closing NoteQueerFilmHub: Thank you so much, Denis, for taking the time to share your insightful perspectives, your uncompromising creative philosophy, and your dedication to independent cinema with our readers.