“You start to have this inner monologue during the day”: Anna Roller and Sylvaine Faligant on Allegro Pastell

Director Anna Roller and lead actress Sylvaine Faligant joined us at the Berlin Film Festival 2026 to discuss their film Allegro Pastell, a nuanced portrayal of modern relationships. Roller spoke about creating the film’s immersive world, where every detail – from clothing to music – carefully reflects the inner state of the protagonist, Tanja. Faligant described her journey into the character, admitting that her first reaction to Tanja’s privileged millennial sensibility was “anger”, before discovering shared “hidden wounds” that ultimately made the role deeply relatable. Roller also highlighted the film’s distinctive use of voiceover, explaining how “you start to have this inner monologue during the day”, a device that evolved from email exchanges between the characters into reflections on a fading long-distance relationship. Their collaborative process – including an inventive exchange of emails between the characters – helped shape a deeper understanding of the film’s emotional landscape.