Lisa Delamar is a star on the rise and if her role in the superb thriller Survive is anything to go by she has an incredible future. We had a quick chat with her ahead of the movie's premiere at FrightFest 2024.
NYX: Did you know from a young age that you wanted to be an actress?
LD: I remember being fascinated by acting as a kid. I used to play pranks on my little brother by pretending to hold my breath to make him think I was dead, and I even kept a diary of my efforts to cry on cue—thinking I’d win an Oscar if I mastered it! I also made my friends dress up and participate in plays at my birthday parties, and directed my then-boyfriend (who hated it) in the lead role. I was around seven. My parents enrolled me in acting classes because I was so shy, but it wasn’t until when I was twelve and my English teacher encouraged me that I thought I could really pursue acting as a career. Thankfully, my parents were incredibly supportive.
NYX: How did you become involved with Survive?
LD: Believe it or not, through a Facebook post! They were doing an open casting to find young French-American actors, and my friends kept tagging me. After a few audition rounds and chemistry tests with Lucas Ebel (who plays my on-screen little brother), I got to work on some scenes with the director, Frederic Jardin. He’s incredibly precise, focused on finding realism and authenticity even in such a scenario with an extraordinary set of circumstances: the inversion of the magnetic poles… During casting, he’d constantly ask himself, ‘Does this feel believable? Would a person really react like this?’ I loved that way of working and was over the moon when I was cast as Cassie.
NYX: This is your first feature film, how nervous were you the first day on set?
LD: Luckily, my first day on set just involved suntanning on a boat deck—no dialogue! But the nerves were there. I was so focused on doing my job well that I didn’t reapply sunscreen between takes, leaving me burned and looking like a lobster for days. Once the more intense scenes began, I was lucky to have Emilie Dequenne and Andreas Pietschmann as my acting parents. They’re both incredible actors and lovely people who guided me throughout. Watching them approach the work so calmly grounded me—if Emilie wasn’t worried, then I didn’t need to be either. The director also encouraged a lot of improvisation, which was both daunting and freeing, and overall, the team’s kindness really helped keep my nerves in check.
NYX: Its an emotional roller coaster of a movie and your on-screen relationship with you family is so believable. Did you have much time to rehearse together?
LD: Lucas and I met during the final rounds of casting, but we didn’t meet Emilie or Andreas until the table read, about a month before shooting. We clicked right away, especially Lucas and I, probably because I have a little brother similar to him and he has an older sister like me. We improvised sibling fights during casting, and it felt exactly like I’d behave with my own brother. Though we didn’t have much time for formal rehearsals, we spent so much time together on set that it naturally felt like a family. Traveling through Morocco for almost two months, sharing meals, and even getting sick together definitely brought us closer. By the end, the whole cast and crew really felt like a family.
NYX: It seems as if it was a physically demanding role, did you work out before the shoot?
LD: I did! Early on, they told us it would be very physically intense. I remember the final audition round with Lucas involved running around a conference table and basically doing parkour. We also had weapons and climbing training before filming. I exercised about an hour and a half every day leading up to the shoot. The filming itself was full of running, climbing containers, navigating rocky hills, and crossing the desert. We had amazing stunt coordinators to help us through the more intense scenes, and despite the challenges, it was such a rewarding process.
NYX: Was it all shot on location?
LD: Almost everything! No spoilers, but only the final scene was partly shot in a studio in Ouarzazate. The rest was filmed on location across Morocco—Nador for the opening scenes at sea, Erfoud for the dormant volcano where the boat ends up when the sea disappears, Merzouga for the desert that used to be the ocean floor, and Dades for the desert canyons. I think the variety of the Moroccan landscapes is part of what makes the film so visually striking, especially with the contrast of the containers and trash that litter the oceanic floor once the water is gone. Shooting on location also meant we had to adapt to daylight and the environment, which added pressure but gave the film a more authentic feel.
NYX: The plot is based on a conspiracy theory, do you believe in such things?
LD: Haha, no, I don’t! But conspiracy theories make for great disaster movies. They tap into our primal fears about survival, and while they feel distant because they’re so implausible, there’s always that tiny part of us that thinks, ‘What if?’ Survive doesn’t dwell on the catastrophe itself for too long though—it’s really about how the characters deal with the emotional and physical consequences after the disaster hits.
NYX: Will you be nervous when the movie has its UK premiere at FrightFest?
LD: Definitely a bit nervous! I’m thrilled that Survive was selected for FrightFest, especially since it’s their 25th edition and the lineup looks amazing. It’s an honor to represent the film there, and I’m excited (and a little nervous) to see how UK audiences react. The Paris premiere got strong reactions, with people screaming at the jump scares, so I’m hoping FrightFest attendees will have a similar experience. It’s such a unique festival, with people who are really passionate about genre films, so I’m sure it’ll be a great experience just being there.
NYX: Are you a fan of horror movies?
LD: I’m a recent convert! I used to think horror wasn’t for me because I’d get so scared, but I’ve started watching some classics like The Blair Witch Project, Jennifer’s Body, and Suspiria. I’m still not great with jump scares (I had to watch The Blair Witch Project in broad daylight), but I love psychological horror. There’s something playful and freeing about genre films—they tend to push boundaries and experiment in ways that create really unique results. I’m excited to see what’s in store at FrightFest.
NYX: So, what are you working on at the moment?
LD: Another genre film! I’m starting shooting in a few weeks, so I can’t reveal much yet, but the director has been featured at FrightFest before. I’m really excited about the project, and I’m crossing my fingers that it’ll bring us back to FrightFest in the future!
NYX: Lisa Delamar, thank you very much.
