CERTIFIED EXCLUSIVE: Cotillard recalls ‘beautiful’ visit to Philippines

SYDNEY — Oscar-winning French actress Marion Cotillard has only fond memories of her first visit to the Philippines in early 2015.

She came then not as a Hollywood star but as a climate change activist, accompanying the French President François Hollande to drum up global support for what would become the Paris climate agreement that was adopted in December last year.

The Philippines was a very significant stop, having been described by experts as one of the most vulnerable countries to destructive climate change impacts.

A highlight of Marion’s trip was the visit to Guiuan, Eastern Samar, where Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), recorded as one of the world’s deadliest tropical cyclones ever, made its first landfall in 2013. 

Marion was going around on crutches at that time due to a minor injury, but it didn’t stop her from getting an on-the-ground experience, paying schools a visit and interacting with townsfolk.

In an interview with The STAR during a presser in this city for her new film, the big-screen adaptation of the popular video-game Assassin’s Creed, Marion shared her memories of her first-ever trip to the Philippines.

“What I saw there was really, really beautiful because I saw a people who didn’t consider themselves as victims but as survivors, resilient people who wanted to — not only they don’t blame the rest of the world — but try to help the rest of the world on their understanding of what’s happening. We should all work together to (find) a better way to live together on this planet,” said Marion, who wore a printed maxi dress that concealed her baby bump.

For her, it was important to be part of that Philippine trip. “I think it’s very important to give your voice to people who don’t have a voice or who are left aside. And I think it’s important to just share the fact that I think we have a very big responsibility towards you guys and the Philippines because you are not mainly responsible for what’s happening to you, which is absolutely unfair and which is absolutely revolting.”

She continued, “And I’ve always felt responsible for the world I live in because by choosing to consume this or that, I have an impact on what you guys go through every year... And it’s more intense — more and more intense. So, I just wanted to show my responsibility.”

In a previous STAR interview, Marion also mentioned that she has been working closely with a woman from the Philippines, who was later revealed as the Pinay nanny of her child.

She told reporters then: “Her name is Elma, she’s part of the family. I’ve been working with her for two years. I don’t know why I get emotional (talking about her)... So the Philippines is this special place because of her and all the people who talked to me about this country, and of course, the fact that you’re on the first line of climate change and climate disturbing.”

Marion’s climate change work and advocacy are bearing fruit. Last month, different nations started ratifying the climate deal that would require the commitment of signatory nations to reduce carbon emissions and slow global warming.

Taking up a cause is also one of the main themes in Assassin's Creed, where Cotillard plays Sofia Rikkin, a scientist searching for a cure for violence. “(What the film is about) is something that concerns everybody. It’s... how human beings behave on this planet thinking that they can control everything and they can serve themselves in non-sustainable resources that harm the world and us,” she said.

Apart from the opportunity of working again with Michael Fassbender and director Justin Kurzel after their first project together in Macbeth (2015), she’s always been drawn to these kinds of themes in films.

Marion said, “What I’m fascinated in is us, as human beings... (The film) relates to why I’m doing this job; why I’m observing; and I have the need to give back what I’ve witnessed from who we are because everything is connected. I mean yes, I have a fascination for human beings, and our environment, the animals that we live with, or the nature that we live in, everything.”

(From 20th Century Fox, Assassin’s Creed will open in Philippine cinemas on Jan. 8, 2017.)

Marion (center) with (from left) Assassin’s Creed co-star Michael Fassbender and director Justin Kurzel