TIFF 2014: KRISTEN STEWART AND JULIETTE BINOCHE TEAM UP FOR “THE CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA” MOVIE

Kristen Stewart says co-starring in a small movie with a big star, Juliette Binoche, in the tiff 2014 movie The Clouds of Sils Maria was just what she was looking for to reignite her passion.

Juliette Binoche and Kristen Stewart join forces to bring together two generations of movie fans in their new movie The Clouds of Sils Maria. The film examines the faltering ego of an aging actress, Maria (Binoche), who is suddenly reminded of her years when an arrogant young actress (Chloe Grace Moretz) claims a role that kick started Maria’s career years ago. To cope, Maria runs off to the scenic Swiss Alps with her devoted assistant, Valentine (Kristen Stewart).

This is Stewart’s first film in a while after unintentionally hogging the spotlight from her Twilight years, where she took some time to just regroup. “I was looking around. There are a couple of things that started and stopped that didn’t get off the ground, and I put a lot of time into those things that didn’t go anywhere, which, happens,”she told Bustle.com. “And after that—this could totally say something about where I was at—it took a special thing. Seriously, I think that after Twilight and after Snow White and the Huntsman, which were such huge movies, that I felt I didn’t want to search for the next “big, successful”thing.”

The Clouds of Sils Maria, the latest from French auteur Oliver Assayas, was just what Stewart was looking for. The sentimental story of a woman grappling to confront her own maturity tackles a subject with which many women —famous or not —struggle with. For many actresses, the process of aging has been distorted into being synonymous with the end of their career, an idea that outspoken actresses like Susan Sarandon and Michelle Pfieffer talk about constantly. But Juliette Binoche may be the exception to that “rule.”

“That tradition that an actor must look good is more old-fashioned; now I think we’re allowed to be more wild, not judging ourselves outwardly,”she said in an interview with The Daily Telegraph.“I’ve been [on] my own path with a lot of different directors from different worlds and languages.”

As for her hot young co-star, Binoche admits to have known little to nothing about Stewart prior to working with her on this film. “I have to admit that the first time I ever saw [Kristen Stewart] was on my daughters’ walls,”Binoche said in Interview magazine. “I also watched On The Road and skipped Twilight.”She also revealed that she Googled the actress. “I needed to know whom I am supposed to meet and play with. I did watch some interviews of [Kristen’s] and instantly decided that I like [her].”

The Clouds of Sils Maria premieres on 4 September and stars Juliette Binoche, Kristen Stewart and Chloe Grace Moretz.

—Sarah Khan