Durga Chew-Bose Brings a New Vision to a French Literary Classic

On an early May Thursday evening, Durga Chew-Bose crossed Sixth Avenue with a focused and contemplative expression.

She had just left the IFC Center in Greenwich Village, a venue she frequented in her twenties while living in New York, where she used to watch art house films alongside a circle of fellow writers and artists. That evening, she attended a discussion following the screening of her first film as a director—an adaptation of the French novel "Bonjour Tristesse," featuring performances by Chloë Sevigny and Lily McInerny.

At 39, Chew-Bose’s attire reflected the meticulous style of one of her characters, incorporating Parisian brands recognizable to discerning viewers familiar with her aesthetic sensibility. Despite the film’s Riviera setting, she wore all black, with her dark hair neatly tucked under her jacket collar.

In her hand, she carried a children's picture book, a gift from a friend intended for her home in Montreal, where she lives with her husband, filmmaker and professor Jesse Noah Klein, and their young son, Fran.

Reflecting on the panel that followed the screening, she wondered quietly whether it had been engaging enough.

Chew-Bose’s journey to writing and directing this new version of "Bonjour Tristesse" was not straightforward. Yet, as a devoted cinephile, she had long sensed that a career in filmmaking was an inevitable path for her.