“It just seemed natural that it should be in two parts,” the British filmmaker tells EW.
“I always wanted the second part to be some kind of reflection of the first part.
I do see them as one piece of work, actually, but with this separation in between.”
Honor Swinton Byrne in ‘The Souvenir Part II’.Josh Barrett/A24
And then the shoot ofPart Ibecame material forPart IIas well.
It’s very hard to describe it in any sort of clear, simple way."
(She spent eight months teaching in Africa after finishing work onPart I.)
Real-life mother-daughter duo Tilda Swinton and Honor Swinton Byrne as mother and daughter in ‘The Souvenir Part II’.Sandro Kopp/A24
“I felt very prepared,” the young actress explains over a joint Zoom call with Hogg.
It was like seeing a friend after a long time and re-getting to know her.
MakingPart IIalso helped her feel more ownership over the character and her journey.
Honor Swinton Byrne in ‘The Souvenir Part II’.Josh Barrett/A24
“You feel so respected and so valued,” Byrne says of this method.
“My opinions and instincts were so cherished.
She gets caught up in this relationship and she’s not got much agency.
“I think it was very appropriate,” says Byrne, chiming back in.
It was very difficult for some of my collaborators.”
And so the ideas weren’t cooked yet, until close to shooting those scenes."
“It’s reignited enthusiasm in me for making films in a particular way,” she reflects.
“I hope I take something from it that I bring forward to my work in the future.
“I’ve grown so much over the two films,” says Byrne.
It’s spoiled me, I think, in a beautiful way.”
The Souvenir Part IIis now playing in theaters.
