Welcome to The Treatment. I'm Elvis Mitchell. The following conversation was recorded in front of a live audience as part of film independence at Lackma Screening Series.

There I spoke to writer-director Xavier Delenn about his new film, Mommy.

One of the things I love about your work now is telling you this, in fact I tell people to see Lawrence anyway is just because of the music.

I mean because the move the music is so evocative.

And you were saying that you actually write with music, right?

I do. I do. I've written a film once because I had heard a song on the radio.

Mommy, I wrote Will for many, for different reasons, but a friend had made me listen to one of the songs in the movie that's called Experience by Ludovico and Audi.

The one when she sort of, you know, has this fantasy of this future life that she, the future she's dreaming of,

there was a song playing called Experience. And when I heard that, I was like, oh, this is a beautiful

piece for a scene like that, but I didn't know it would be a scene in mommy. And I didn't know it

would be, you know, but I knew it would be a mother dreaming of a future,

you know, a brighter future for her son and herself and seeing these things and these,

having these visions. And then eventually I was like, okay, that's going to be in mommy and it's

going to be with, but yeah, music always comes at a very, very, very early stage.

I was wondering for Lawrence anyways, too,

that beautiful opening sequence with those incredible faces.

And if there was music that came to mind for you as you were putting that together,

because just, I love the way you shoot faces.

I mean, you shoot like a photographer rather than a filmmaker.

And I just wonder if photography is an influence for you in any way, really.

It is way more than movies, actually.

Yeah. Okay.

...