François Ozon (French: [fʁɑ̃.swa o.zɔ̃]; born 15 November 1967) is a French film director and screenwriter.
François Ozon | |
|---|---|
 Ozon in 2022 | |
| Born | 15 November 1967 Paris, France |
| Alma mater | La Femis, Panthéon-Sorbonne University |
| Occupation | Filmmaker |
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Website | www |
Ozon is considered one of the most important modern French filmmakers.[citation needed] His films are characterized by aesthetic beauty, sharp satirical humor and a free-wheeling view of human sexuality. Recurring themes in his films are friendship, sexual identity, different perceptions of reality, transience and death.[citation needed]
Ozon has achieved international acclaim for his films 8 femmes (2002) and Swimming Pool (2003). He is considered one of the most important directors in the new "New Wave" in French cinema, along with Jean-Paul Civeyrac, Philippe Ramos, and Yves Caumon, as well as a group of French filmmakers associated with a cinema du corps ("cinema of the body").[1]
Life and career
editOzon was born in Paris, France.[2] Having studied directing at the French film school La Femis, Ozon made several short films such as A Summer Dress (Une robe d'été, 1996) and Scènes de lit (1998). His motion picture directing debut was Sitcom (also 1998), which was well received by both critics and audiences.
After the Fassbinder adaptation Water Drops on Burning Rocks (Gouttes d'eau sur pierres brûlantes, 2000) came the film which made his name outside France, 8 Women (8 femmes, 2002), starring Catherine Deneuve, Fanny Ardant, Isabelle Huppert and Emmanuelle Béart. With its quirky mix of musical numbers and murder mystery and a production design harking back to 1950s Hollywood melodramas such as those directed by Douglas Sirk, the film became a huge commercial success.
In 2003, Swimming Pool, starring Charlotte Rampling and Ludivine Sagnier, was released. Ozon considered it a very personal film that gives insight into the difficult process of writing a novel or screenplay.
In 2004 he directed the film 5x2. His next film, Time to Leave (Le temps qui reste) (which one critic said explored the question "how does a frivolous person deal with his own mortality?")[3] screened at film festivals worldwide in 2005, and in 2006 it was distributed in the U.S.
Ozon's first full English-language production, Angel, starring Romola Garai, was released in 2007. The film, based on a novel by British writer Elizabeth Taylor, follows the story of a poor girl who climbs Edwardian England's social ladder by becoming a romance writer. The film was shot at Tyntesfield House and Estate near Bristol, at other UK locations and in Belgium.
While filming Angel, Ozon developed a strong friendship with Garai and called her his "muse".
His film The Refuge had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2009.
Ozon was on the jury for the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival, held in February 2012.[4]
His 2013 film Young & Beautiful (Jeune & Jolie) was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.[5] Ozon was voted best screenwriter at the 2013 European Film Awards for his 2012 film In the House.[6]
His 2014 film The New Girlfriend premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2014.[7]
His film Peter von Kant, a gender-flipped reinterpretation of Rainer Werner Fassbinder's 1972 film The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, premiered at the 2022 Berlin Film Festival.[8]
Awards
edit- 1999: Seattle International Film Festival - Emerging Masters Showcase Award
- 2004: Filmfest Hamburg - Douglas-Sirk-Award
- 2006: Frameline Film Festival - Frameline Award
- 2011: Jameson Dublin International Film Festival - Career Achievement Award
Filmography
editShort film
edit| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Photo de famille | Yes | Yes | Also editor and cinematographer |
| 1988 | Les Doigts dans le ventre | Yes | Yes | Also editor, cinematographer and producer |
| 1990 | Mes parents un jour d'été | Yes | Yes | Also producer |
| 1991 | Une goutte de sang | Yes | ||
| 1991 | Deux plus un | Yes | ||
| 1992 | Thomas reconstitué | Yes | Yes | |
| 1993 | Victor | Yes | Yes | |
| 1994 | Une rose entre nous | Yes | Yes | Also actor |
| 1994 | Truth or Dare | Yes | Yes | Also as editor French Syndicate of Cinema Critics - Best Short Film |
| 1995 | Little Death | Yes | Yes | |
| 1996 | Les Puceaux | Yes | Yes | aka "Scènes de lit. Les Puceaux" |
| 1996 | L'Homme idéal | Yes | Yes | |
| 1996 | A Summer Dress | Yes | Yes | L.A. Outfest - Audience Award for Outstanding Narrative Short Film Nominated—César Award for Best Short Film |
| 1998 | Scènes de lit | Yes | Yes | Also editor Avignon Film Festival - Prix Panavision |
| 1998 | X2000 | Yes | Yes | Short film Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival - Special Mention of the Jury |
| 2006 | A Curtain Raiser | Yes | Yes | |
| 2007 | Quand la peur dévore l'âme | Yes | Also as editor |
Documentary shorts
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Peau contre peau (les risques inutiles) | |
| 1991 | Le Trou madame | |
| 1995 | Jospin s'éclaire | Also editor |
Feature film
edit| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Awards and nominations
editReferences
edit- ^ Palmer, Tim. "Style and Sensation in the Contemporary French Cinema of the Body" (PDF). Journal of Film and Video (Fall 2006). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-02. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
- ^ Schneider, Steven Jay, ed. (2007). 501 Movie Directors. London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 621. ISBN 9781844035731. OCLC 1347156402.
- ^ Thomas, Christopher (2006). "Director François Ozon discusses his summer release". V Magazine. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
- ^ "Berlinale 2012: International Jury". berlinale.de. 2011-12-19. Archived from the original on 2012-01-18. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ "2013 Official Selection". Cannes. 18 April 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
- ^ "Winners 2013". European Film Awards. European Film Academy. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
- ^ "Toronto film festival 2014 unveils first wave; Little Chaos to close". Screen Daily. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
- ^ Manori Ravindran, "Francois Ozon’s ‘Peter Von Kant’ to Open Berlin Film Festival". Variety, January 12, 2022.
- ^ "PRIZES & HONOURS 2000". berlinale.de. Archived from the original on 15 October 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
- ^ "Official Selection 2003: All the Selection". festival-cannes.fr. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013.
- ^ "PROGRAMME 2009". berlinale.de. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
- ^ Reynolds, Simon (12 February 2012). "Orange BAFTA Film Awards 2012 winners list - in full". Digital Spy. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
- ^ "Cannes Film Festival line-up is announced". BBC News. 18 April 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
- ^ "Amour among contenders for 2013 Cesar Awards". BBC News. 25 January 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
- ^ "Venice Film Festival 2016". Deadline. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
- ^ "The 2017 Official Selection". Cannes. 13 April 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
- ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (24 January 2017). "César Awards Nominations: Verhoeven's 'Elle', Ozon's 'Frantz' In The Lead". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
- ^ "European Film Awards Nominations: 'The Square', 'Loveless', 'On Body And Soul' & More". Deadline. 4 November 2017.
- ^ "AWARDS AND JURIES IN THE GENERATION SECTION". Retrieved 16 February 2019.
- ^ "Roman Polanski's 'An Officer and a Spy' Leads France's Cesar Awards Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. 29 January 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
- ^ "European Film Academy : Nominations for the European Film Awards 2020". www.europeanfilmacademy.org. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
- ^ "Emmanuel Mouret's 'Love Affairs' Leads France's Cesar Nominations". Variety. 10 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ "Sean Penn, Wes Anderson, Ildikó Enyedi Join 2021 Cannes Lineup". The Hollywood Reporter. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
Further reading
edit- Asibong, Andrew, François Ozon, Manchester University Press (2008) ISBN 0-7190-7423-1
- Badt, Karin, "Francois Ozon's New Thriller Gains Applause at Cannes Despite Shallowness," Huffington Post (2017). http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/592736c8e4b03296e2d11342
- Cavitch, Max, "Sex After Death: François Ozon's Libidinal Invasions," Screen 48.3 (2007), 313-26
- Padva, Gilad. "Undressed Masculinities and Disrupted Sexualities in Une Robe d'été" in Grandena, Florian and Johnston, Cristina (Eds.). Cinematic Queerness: Gay and Lesbian Hypervisibility in Contemporary Francophone Feature Films, vol. 2 (Modern French Identities 98) (pp. 215–225). Oxford and New York: Peter Lang (2011).
- Palmer, Tim, "Style and Sensation in the Contemporary French Cinema of the Body," Journal of Film and Video 58.3 (2006), 22-32
- Rees-Roberts, Nick. French Queer Cinema, Edinburgh University Press (2008) ISBN 0-7486-3418-5
- Schilt, Thibaut. François Ozon, University of Illinois Press (2011) ISBN 0-252-07794-6
- Wende, Johannes (Ed.), François Ozon, edition text + kritik (2016) ISBN 978-3-86916-511-0
External links
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