Alain Berbérian ( hy, Ալեն Բերբերյան; 2 July 1953 – 22 August 2017) was a French film director and writer of

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

descent.

Biography

Born in Beirut to an Armenian father and a Greek mother, Berbérian spent his youth in Lebanon before finishing his studies in France. He was the brother of cartoonist

Charles Berberian Philippe Dupuy (born 12 December 1960, Sainte-Adresse) and Charles Berbérian (born 28 May 1959, Baghdad) are French cartoonists most famous for their series of Franco-Belgian comics albums featuring the character ''Monsieur Jean''. Their collab ...

. He began his career in the audiovisual field, working as an editor at Canal+. His first feature film was the comedy ''

La Cité de la peur ( "The City of Fear"), also known as ("The Les Nuls Movie"), is a 1994 French comedy film written by and starring Chantal Lauby, Alain Chabat and Dominique Farrugia of the comedy group Les Nuls, and directed by Alain Berbérian in 1994. The m ...

'', which was hit in France. Based on a script by Les Nuls, the film describes a series of murders in

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...

. Berbérian returned in 1998 with ''

Paparazzi Paparazzi (, ; ; singular: masculine paparazzo or feminine paparazza) are independent photographers who take pictures of high-profile people; such as actors, musicians, athletes, politicians, and other celebrities, typically while subjects ...

'', starring

Vincent Lindon Vincent Lindon (born 15 July 1959) is a French actor and filmmaker. For his role in the film '' The Measure of a Man'' (2015), Lindon won Best Actor at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, Best Actor at the 41st César Awards and the IFFI Best Act ...

and Patrick Timsit. The film follows the life of a night watchman (Timsit) who is fired after being photographed at a soccer game, instead of being at his job. He then meets Michel (Lindon), who teaches him how to be a paparazzo. In 2000, Berbérian directed ''Six-Pack'', a thriller with Richard Anconina who stalks a serial-killer to the four corners of Paris. Returning in 2002 with the comedy ''

Le Boulet ''Le Boulet'' is a French action-comedy film directed by Alain Berbérian and Frédéric Forestier, released in 2002. Plot Moltès, a killer in prison, plays the lottery every week and sends the tickets with Reggio, a guard, so that the latte ...

'', starring Gérard Lanvin and

Benoît Poelvoorde Benoît Poelvoorde (, ; born 22 September 1964) is a Belgian actor and comedian. Early life His mother was a grocer and his father a driver, who died when Poelvoorde was still a minor. He attended the Jesuit Boarding School of Godinne before ...

, a prison guard (Poelvoorde) has to team up with a convict (Lanvin) to retrieve a lotto ticket from the latter. Then in 2004, Berbérian paired

Christian Clavier Christian Jean-Marie Clavier (; born 6 May 1952) is a French actor, screenwriter, film producer and director. He became widely popular after starring in two hit comedy series: Patrice Leconte's ''Les Bronzés'' and ''Les Visiteurs'' directed by Je ...

and Jean Reno in the comedy, '' The Corsican File'', based on a comic book of the same name by

René Pétillon René Pétillon (; 12 December 1945 – 30 September 2018) was a French satirical and political cartoonist and comics artist. As a cartoonist he was most famous for his work in ''Canard Enchaîné''. As a comics artist his best known and longest ...

, in which a detective is responsible for locating a man living in

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

who is owed an inheritance. In 2007, he reunited

Gérard Jugnot Gérard Jugnot (; born 4 May 1951) is a French actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer. Jugnot was one of the founders of the comedy ''troupe'' Le Splendid in the 1970s, along with, among others, his high-school friends Christian Cl ...

and

Jean-Paul Rouve Jean-Paul Rouve (born 26 January 1967) is a French actor, film director, screenwriter and producer. He is a member of the troupe "Les Robins des Bois". He has appeared in more than thirty film and television productions since 1993. Personal li ...

in ''L'Île aux trésors''.

Death

Berbérian died in Paris, France, on 22 August 2017, at the age of 64.

Filmography

Director

* 1989 : ''ABCD Nuls'' (TV series), with Les Nuls * 1990 : ''Histoire(s) de la télévision'' (TV series), with Les Nuls * 1990 : ''Les Nuls L'émission'' (TV series), with Les Nuls * 1994 : ''

, with Les Nuls * 1998 : ''

'', with Vincent Lindon * 2000 : ''Six-Pack'', with Richard Anconina * 2002 : ''

'' (Dead Weight), with Gérard Lanvin * 2004 : ''

L'Enquête Corse ''The Corsican File'' () is a 2004 French comedy film directed by Alain Berbérian. It is based on the comic book of the same name, one of the stories from the '' Jack Palmer'' series by René Pétillon. The film was produced by Gaumont and Leg ...

'' (The Corsican File), with Christian Clavier * 2007 : ''L'Île aux trésors'' (Treasured Island), with Gérard Jugnot

Writer

* 1998 : ''Six-Pack'', with Richard Anconina * 1997 : ''Paparazzi'', with

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Berberian, Alain 1953 births 2017 deaths Writers from Beirut French film directors French people of Armenian descent French people of Greek descent