The manager of Stade Toulousain is the recurring character of the film Le Stade, dedicated to the fantastic 2020-2021 season of the champions of France and Europe, which will hit the big screens this Wednesday.
Le Figaro. How does it feel to see yourself on the big screen?
Ugo Mola: It’s not really our world, so we’re a bit divided. Between this total immersion in our daily life that we offer and not too comfortable with what it can represent in terms of exposure. It’s an ambivalent feeling between pride in what we experienced last season and a little bit of shame that it’s coming out now, given our current results. So we try to do the promotion at the same time with a little modesty.
Does this outing put you under sporting pressure?
It won’t take away what we’ve won. This movie is about what happened, not of what will happen. But it will always give our adversaries something to grind on… This is the fate of any immersion. After the pandemic, we found it necessary to open up to share things with our audience. We are quite proud of that. The consequences or the collateral damage, we’ll see later…
Read alsoChampions Cup: Toulouse was “a little scattered” on the red carpet
Have you had a say in the passages chosen and shown?
Frankly, there has been very little censorship, proofreading. We relied completely on Eric (Hannezo) and Matthieu (Vollaire) (the co-directors, editors note), who chose a particular axis. It’s not my background and it’s not my job. I would be very uncomfortable giving advice. Well, by the flowery language we see that I am not stingy (laughter† Once they’ve removed a few punctuation marks from the south of France, not much changes…
“We do not claim to have the monopoly of truth, heart or values. But we’re trying a new format in an environment that, for my taste, is sometimes a little too clean. †
Ugo Mola
What image of Stade Toulousain will this film convey to the general public?
I have no idea ! All I can say is that it was done without calculation or ulterior motive. I hope this film shows our sincerity, our way of working. Then everyone has their own opinion. From the moment we agreed to open, we knew that intimacy would inevitably be disrupted. Surely there are very important moments, especially around the slip, that you would like to keep to yourself. But if you share, you have to go to the end of the process… I especially want people to see the love of the players for the Stade Toulousain shirt.
Can this topic attract people to the cinema?
Rugby needs attention. We see it in the good results of the French team. It can make up for the lack of credibility that our championship can sometimes have between duplicates and reports… This exhibition has the merit of being sincere, giving people access to our environment. We do not claim to have the monopoly of truth, heart or values. But we’re trying a new format in an environment that, for my taste, is sometimes a little too clean. I have a pretty high sense of modesty, that’s under pressure at the moment, but I think it’s a good thing for our sport.
Have you managed to forget the camera that is constantly watching you?
You pay attention to it for the first few weeks. Then, after two months, the natural takes over. It was an incredible season, in a very special context (the pandemic, competitions behind closed doors, editor’s note† What happens is a lot of tension, fear. But delivering the win keeps us from feeling too uncomfortable presenting this documentary.
You are still being filmed…
Yes. And I’m not hiding it from you guys, I hope it will be a little less focused on me and more on other players who have an even bigger share than me in the successes of Stade Toulousain.
Are you tempted to retrain as an actor after this experience?
No, no, no… I will not expose myself to such an environment.
ALSO SEE – The composition of the groups for the group stage of the 2022 World Cup
