Isabelle Resta

QUICK BIO: What do Sébastien Chabal, the TV series Louis la Brocante and the filming of the TV movie A Golden Alibi starring Charles Aznavour have in common? The answer is a woman from Lyon named Isabelle Resta, a volunteer at the festival for the fourth year in a row. “Routine isn’t for me.” sums up this early retiree with infectious enthusiasm. A true chameleon, as a teen, she worked as a forklift operator and then as a stenographer and typist. Then Isabelle went on to work as a salesclerk in a school supply store, a sales promoter in supermarkets, a housekeeper and even a switchboard operator. With a fondness for the unexpected, this Lyon native is also an actress! Trained in improvisational theater and slapstick comedy, Isabelle has also been an extra in film and television shows for many years. She appeared in the series Louis la Brocante and the TV movie A Golden Alibi, where she played the part of “the police radio voice.” She even played a cheerleader beside Sébastien Chabal to support “Courir pour elles,” an organization committed to fighting women’s cancers. A discerning film buff, Isabelle looks forward to joining the ranks of volunteers every year. “I love everything I experience here at the festival.” Said like a true Lyonnaise.

MY FAVORITE FILMMAKERS: Francis Ford Coppola, whom I was lucky enough to see up close when he was the Lumière Award recipient in 2019. And I have a special memory of the screening of Apocalypse Now: I’d gone to see it with the boy I was dating at the time. During the movie, I had my first kiss!
 

THE MOVIE THEATER WHERE I DISCOVERED THE CINEMA: It was “Le Select” cinema in Bron. And my first film was Gérard Oury’s Delusions of Grandeur, which I love. I was eight years old and it was incredible!

MY GO-TO FILM: Wolfgang Reitherman’s The Jungle Book; I had the original version on 45 rpm vinyl.

VOLUNTEERING: I started volunteering with the “Gones de Gerland” charity by organizing themed soirées for local residents. For several years now, I have also been involved with “Courir pour elles.”

MY MISSIONS AT THE FESTIVAL: Selling merchandise during the Chaplin film concert at La Halle Tony Garnier, and welcoming and guiding the public at the information booth set up in the Cinema Village.

 — Interview by Laura Lépine