Actress Lyna Khoudri channels the French New Wave as she speaks with L'OFFICIEL about landing her role in Wes Anderson's "The French Dispatch" while on a stroll around Paris.

Photographed by Marili Andre

Styled by Vanessa Bellugeon

Wes Anderson&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.searchlightpictures.com/thefrenchdispatch/">The French Dispatch</a> is one of the <a href="https://www.lofficielsingapore.com/Culture/french-dispatch-anderson">most anticipated new films</a>. starring alongside an all-star ensemble cast including <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop%20culture/what-is-soft-boy-aesthetic-harry-styles-timothee-chalamet">Timoth&eacute;e Chalamet</a>, Bill Murray, <a href="https://www.lofficielsingapore.com/Culture/cate-blanchett-and-tilda-swinton-are-featured-at-the-opening-of-the-venice-film-festival">Tilda Swinton</a>, and&nbsp;Frances McDormand, the rising French-Algerian actress Lyna Khoudri holds her own. In the film, Khoudri plays Juliette, a student activist in Paris. Motorbike helmet on, she protests for women&rsquo;s rights with her equally passionate boyfriend, played by Chalamet.

&ldquo;When I auditioned for&nbsp;the film, I still hadn&#39;t received the C&eacute;sar&nbsp;[for Promising Actress] for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/aug/08/papicha-review-mounia-meddour-debut-civil-war-algeria-design-student">Mounia Meddour&rsquo;s </a><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/aug/08/papicha-review-mounia-meddour-debut-civil-war-algeria-design-student">Papicha</a>,&rdquo; Khoudri tells L&rsquo;OFFICIEL. &quot;Wes had never seen me on a screen before. It all started with a video to be sent to production. One night I filmed myself with my cell phone. I had to introduce myself. I talked about participating in a job at my high school in Saint-Ouen: I skipped classes and went dancing on the street with my friends.&quot; Three weeks later, Khoudri passed her first casting in Paris without knowing anything about the role. While waiting for a response from the production, she filmed a short film with friends in Algeria. &ldquo;It was my first time in the desert, I was amazed. The rest of the world seemed so far away. I only looked at my emails at night. My agent was looking for me everywhere to tell me that I&rsquo;d got the part. But I still didn&#39;t know anything about my role! Nor who my costars would be.&rdquo;

Bodysuit MIU MIU

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Dress EMPORIO ARMANI, blouse CELINE, cape LOUIS VUITTON, tights FALKE, shoes REPETTO.

Khoudri then found herself in Angoul&ecirc;me, France for costume rehearsals. The treasure hunt to discover her character&rsquo;s love interest continued. &ldquo;There was mystery about everything. Each cast name was incredible...Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, Frances McDormand. And I only realized later that Timoth&eacute;e Chalamet would play my boyfriend.&rdquo;&nbsp;

On set, Khoudri had only her lines, about 15 pages, leaving the rest of the script a mystery. &ldquo;Then I got my share of the script, which was 40 pages, but never the full plot. Only the technical team had it. I once ran into Bill Murray who told me about his shooting of the day...Together we were able to understand a bit of the story. But only at the final screening did I discover the plot in its entirety.&rdquo;

Sweater MOLLY BRACKEN, skirt NEMOZENA, coat Max Mara, socks CALZEDONIA, shoes CAREL

Every night during production, Anderson helped the actress expand her cinematic knowledge. &quot;In the lobby of the hotel where we were all staying, there was a table full of DVDs,&rdquo; Khoudri remembers. &ldquo;Dinners were almost like quizzes. Wes would ask me: &lsquo;Did you watch <a href="https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2010/cteq/partie-de-campagne/">Partie de Campagne</a> by Renoir?&rsquo; &lsquo;No.&rsquo; &lsquo;Watch it.&rsquo; I went into my room and watched it immediately. After devouring it, I threw myself into Jacques Rivette&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1981/10/07/movies/rivett-s-le-pont-du-nord.html">Le Pont du Nord</a>. It was the reference for my role, especially with the motorbike helmet and the leather jacket that the hero&mdash;played by Pascale Ogier&mdash;wore. Juliette is as rebellious as Ogier in the film. And then Le Pont du Nord is a bit magical. It fed me. It is impressive to see Wes&#39; love of French popular culture. He knows exactly how to create a dialogue with this while remaining the American director he is. Everything is controlled. Its accuracy is impressive.&rdquo;

Dress EMPORIO ARMANI, blouse CELINE

After&nbsp;Anderson&#39;s&nbsp;film, Khoudri played the sunny and spontaneous role of Diana in&nbsp;Fanny Liatard&nbsp;and&nbsp;J&eacute;r&eacute;my Trouilh&#39;s&nbsp;short film&nbsp;<a href="http://my.clermont-filmfest.com/index.php?m=145&amp;c=3&amp;id_film=200055457&amp;o=178">Gagarine</a>.&nbsp;&ldquo;This is a humanistic film about the peripheries, the suburbs,&rdquo; the actress says. &ldquo;It was a dreamlike and positive job.&rdquo;&nbsp;

In a way, Khoudri herself grew up on the fringes. &ldquo;I was born in Algeria in 1992, when extremist politics were on the rise,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;My father was a politically engaged journalist, and he was in danger&mdash;we had to leave the country. But my social awareness started with the 2005 workers&rsquo; strikes in France. I felt that, fundamentally, I was on the strikers&rsquo; side.&rdquo; But Khoudri didn&rsquo;t give up. &ldquo;When you are in Algiers, you feel the soul of the city, the Ottoman Empire, Haussmann&#39;s France, the last 50 Arabian years.&rdquo; This blend of cultures is written in&nbsp;the actress&rsquo;&nbsp;soul. And for her, Algeria represents history, but also colonization. &ldquo;The Algerian war and the colonization were terrible. I started to read anti-establishment writers such as Aim&eacute;e C&eacute;saire and Frantz Fanon. They built my understanding of where I am from, and who I am.&rdquo;

Blouse LILI SIDONIO, belt PRADA, skirt THE LABEL EDITION, socks FALKE, shoes REPETTO, watch SWAROVSKI

She keeps her home close. Algeria and the East are tattooed on the inside of&nbsp; Khoudri&rsquo;s wrist. &ldquo;It is a hand of Fatima. I chose it because I am very superstitious: it rejects bad energies.&rdquo; On her other wrist, she wears a bracelet of red thread with a pearl. &ldquo;My mother loves cultured pearls. I&#39;ve only had cultured pearls as a birthday present since I was born, and the red thread in the Jewish religion is a symbol of protection.&quot;&nbsp;

Today, Lyna&nbsp;is preparing for her next role in a still under wraps international film. &ldquo;Two hours of swimming and one hour of weight lifting a day. It&#39;s much more intense than my 10 years of modern jazz...I wanted to be a dancer. It was my passion before cinema,&rdquo; she says.&nbsp;

Five minutes after having spent hours talking about cinema,&nbsp;Khoudri&nbsp;sends me a text&nbsp;message: &ldquo;Obviously among my cult favorites is Fran&ccedil;ois Truffaut&#39;s <a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-story-of-adele-h-1976">[The Story of] Adele H.</a>&ndash;A love story...she is part of me.&rdquo;

Dress EMPORIO ARMANI, blouse CELINE, tights FALKE, shoes REPETTO

Hair Stylist Nabil Harlow

Makeup Gregoris

Photographer Assistant Enzo Le Hen

Stylist Assistant Cindy Lucas

L&#39;OFFICIEL&#39;s&nbsp;September 2020 Issue is available on newsstands and&nbsp;<a href="https://issuu.com/lofficielitalia/docs/lous_digital_issue_sep20__1___2_">online</a>&nbsp;now.&nbsp;

Lyna Khoudri is Wes Anderson's Newest Star

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