"It was difficult"

Deneuve opens up about kissing scene with daughter

Catherine Deneuve and her daughter Chiara Mastroianni in Cannes

(Bild: picturedesk.com/Clodagh Kilcoyne / REUTERS / picturedesk.com)

In the new film "Marcello Mio" by Christophe Honoré, French acting legend Catherine Deneuve takes a journey into her past. This was not easy for her in every scene, said the 80-year-old at the presentation of the competition film in Cannes on Wednesday.

The work is about her relationship with Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni (1924-1996). In it, Deneuve and other filmmakers play a kind of fictionalized version of themselves.

Deneuve and Mastroianni's daughter Chiara Mastroianni can be seen in the leading role. "Marcello Mio" follows Chiara as she transforms into her father following an identity crisis. Equipped with a wig, suit and moustache (and thus looking remarkably like her father), she disturbs those around her with her new appearance.

Director Christophe Honore and actors Catherine Deneuve, Benjamin Biolay and Chiara Mastroianni at the screening of "Marcello Mio".

(Bild: picturedesk.com/Sarah Meyssonnier / REUTERS / picturedesk.com)

Kissing scene with daughter was "actually difficult"
 Deneuve follows her daughter's behavior in the film with amused curiosity. In one scene, she kisses her daughter on the mouth - and it is implied that she is overcome by her feelings for her former partner at that moment. "It was a bit ambivalent, it was actually difficult for me," said Deneuve about the scene. "Because she is my daughter."

You can watch the official trailer for the film here:

"It's just a game" for Deneuve's daughter
Chiara, on the other hand, said she had no problems with it. She always distances herself from the roles she plays. "It's just a game - it's a movie," she said.

"Which, on the other hand, caused me problems: I didn't like becoming Chiara again," she added. "I haven't come to terms with that yet. It's unsettling when you'd rather be someone else."