Elle Fanning Opens Up About Her ‘Meta’ Role in ‘Sentimental Value’ (Exclusive)

Elle Fanning has been acting for most of her life, but her latest film presented her a new challenge: in Sentimental Value, the Emmy nominee plays an actress for the first time.

Following its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May, where it won the prestigious Grand Prix award, the movie from writer-director Joachim Trier recently debuted in the U.S. at the Telluride Film Festival.

And on Thursday, Sept. 4, Sentimental Value screened during the opening night of the Toronto International Film Festival, where Fanning, 27, spoke with PEOPLE on the red carpet at the Princess of Wales Theater about how personal the project is to her.

“I mean, it was very meta, this whole experience,” Fanning tells PEOPLE of embodying Rachel Kemp, a major American star who’s yearning to be taken more seriously as an actress in the acclaimed drama about generational trauma.

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“There were a lot of things that I could relate to in the character,” she continues. “What’s beautiful about Joachim and this film in particular [is] it’s very personal to him and he allows his cast to add their personal experiences as well, and he’s extremely open to that. I think you can feel that in the heartbeat of the movie.”

The Maleficent star adds, “Rachel’s different from me in some ways, but there are also challenges she faces that I’ve felt before in my career, and it was very cathartic actually getting to play her.”

For Fanning, playing an actress in Sentimental Value recalled one of her earliest screen experiences in J.J. Abrams‘ 2011 hit Super 8, where her character helps a friend by starring in his student film.

“I remember in Super 8 I had a scene where we’re doing a film within a film,” she recalls. “I was 12, so I guess I was preparing for this role back then.”

And while the actress she plays in Sentimental Value is at a low point in her career, Fanning is currently thriving with Trier’s film courting Oscars buzz and her next release, the sci-fi action epic Predator: Badlands, coming out this fall. This is following a summer where Sentimental Value made a splash at Cannes, launching its awards race.

“Oh gosh, well, it’s a Joachim Trier summer,” Fanning says excitedly, name-checking the renown Norwegian filmmaker. “We’re going into a Joachim Trier autumn and hopefully a Joachim Trier winter.”

“But it’s been a fantastic, fantastic summer, and I’ve got to have some time off to travel and now I’m happy to be here in Toronto,” she continues. “I love it here. I’m happy to be back with a movie that’s so special.”

Sentimental Value opens in limited release Nov. 7 before expanding to more theaters around Thanksgiving.