Olivier Assayas (born 25 January 1955) is a French film director, screenwriter and film critic. Assayas is known for his slow-burning

period pieces Period may refer to: Common uses * Era, a length or span of time * Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...

psychological thrillers Psychological thriller is a genre combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting. In terms of context and con ...

neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...

s and French comedies. His work has become synonymous with the film movement known as the

New French Extremity New French Extremity (New French Extremism or, informally, New French Extreme) is a term coined by ''Artforum'' critic James Quandt for a collection of transgressive films by French directors at the turn of the 21st century. Also available othe ...

and has collaborated frequently with

Juliette Binoche Juliette Binoche (; born 9 March 1964) is a French actress and dancer. She has appeared in more than sixty feature films and has been the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Silver Bear, ...

and

Kristen Stewart Kristen Jaymes Stewart (born April 9, 1990) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2012, she has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and a César Award, in addition to nominations for an Acad ...

. The son of filmmaker Jacques Rémy, Assayas began his career as a critic for influential magazine ''

Cahiers du Cinéma ''Cahiers du Cinéma'' (, ) is a French film magazine co-founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca.Itzkoff, Dave (9 February 2009''Cahiers Du Cinéma Will Continue to Publish''The New York TimesMacnab, Ge ...

''. Here he wrote about the

World Cinema World cinema is a term in film theory that refers to films made outside of the American motion picture industry, particularly those in opposition to the aesthetics and values of commercial American cinema.Nagib, Lúcia. "Towards a positive de ...

and its film auteurs who would later influence his own works. Assayas made several shorts, and then made the leap from writer to screenwriter. He made his directorial film debut with ''Disorder'' in 1986. He continued directing films, with '' Cold Water'' (1994) becoming a breakthrough film in his career. It would be his first film to be screened at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

in the

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...

section. His follow up film ''

Irma Vep ''Irma Vep'' is a 1996 French comedy-drama film written and directed by Olivier Assayas. Hong Kong actress Maggie Cheung plays a fictionalised version of herself, as disasters result when an unstable French film director (played by Jean-Pie ...

'' (1996) also screened at Cannes, while ''

Sentimental Destinies ''Sentimental Destinies'' (french: Les Destinées sentimentales) is a 2000 French drama film directed by Olivier Assayas. Running from the 1890s to the 1930s, the film tells the story of two wealthy Protestant families in the south-west of Fran ...

'' (2000), ''

Demonlover ''Demonlover'' is a 2002 French neo-noir thriller film written and directed by Olivier Assayas, and starring Connie Nielsen, Charles Berling, Chloë Sevigny, and Gina Gershon. The plot focuses on the entanglement between various corporations vyin ...

'' (2002), and '' Clean'' (2004) all officially competed for the

Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

. In 2006, he contributed a short film to the

anthology film An anthology film (also known as an omnibus film, package film, or portmanteau film) is a single film consisting of several shorter films, each complete in itself and distinguished from the other, though frequently tied together by a single theme ...

Paris, je t'aime ''Paris, je t'aime'' (; ''Paris, I love you'') is a 2006 anthology film starring an ensemble cast of actors of various nationalities. The two-hour film consists of eighteen short films set in different arrondissements (districts). The 22 director ...

'' (2006) with fellow directors such as

Alexander Payne Constantine Alexander Payne (; born February 10, 1961) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known for the films ''Citizen Ruth'' (1996), ''Election'' (1999), ''About Schmidt'' (2002), ''Sideways'' (2004), ''The Desc ...

Coen Brothers Joel Daniel Coen (born November 29, 1954) and Ethan Jesse Coen (born September 21, 1957),State of Minnesota. ''Minnesota Birth Index, 1935–2002''. Minnesota Department of Health. collectively known as the Coen brothers (), are American film ...

and

Alfonso Cuarón Alfonso Cuarón Orozco ( , ; born 28 November 1961) is a Mexican filmmaker. He is known for directing films in a variety of genres including the family drama ''A Little Princess (1995 film), A Little Princess'' (1995), the romantic drama ''Gre ...

. He gained acclaim with his dramas '' Summer Hours'' (2008), ''

Clouds of Sils Maria ''Clouds of Sils Maria'' (known simply as ''Sils Maria'' in some territories) is a 2014 psychological drama film written and directed by Olivier Assayas, and starring Juliette Binoche, Kristen Stewart, and Chloë Grace Moretz. The film is a Fren ...

'' (2014) and ''

Personal Shopper A personal shopper is a person who helps others shop by giving advice and making suggestions. They are often employed by department stores and boutiques, although some are freelance or work exclusively online. Their focus is usually on clothes, a ...

'' (2016); the latter won him the

Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Director The Best Director Award (french: Prix de la mise en scène) is an award presented annually at the Cannes Film Festival since 1946. It is given for the best achievement in directing and is chosen by the International Jury from the films in the Co ...

. He has also directed the comedy ''

Non-Fiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with be ...

'' (2018) and the spy thriller '' Wasp Network'' (2019).

Life and career

Assayas was born in Paris, France, the son of French director/screenwriter Raymond Assayas, alias Jacques Rémy (1911–1981). His father was of Turkish-Jewish origin who had settled in Italy, while his mother, Catherine de Károlyi, was a fashion designer of

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

Hungarian origin. Assayas started his career in the industry by helping his father. He ghostwrote episodes for TV shows his father was working on when his health failed. In a 2010 interview, Assayas stated that his main political influences when growing up were

Guy Debord Guy-Ernest Debord (; ; 28 December 1931 – 30 November 1994) was a French Marxist theorist, philosopher, filmmaker, critic of work, member of the Letterist International, founder of a Letterist faction, and founding member of the Situationis ...

and

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...

. Speaking of the 1968

May uprising The May Uprising ( hy, Մայիսյան ապստամբություն, translit=Mayisyan apstambutyun) was a coup d'état attempt by the Armenian Bolsheviks that started in Alexandropol (modern-day Gyumri) on May 10, 1920. It was eventually suppr ...

to overthrow General de Gaulle, Assayas in the same interview stated: "I was defined by the politics of May '68, but for me May '68 was an anti-totalitarian uprising. People seemed to forget that at the occupied Odéon theater, you had crossed flags-black and red, and I was on the side of the black element." He made his debut in 1986, after directing some short films and writing for the influential film magazine ''

Cahiers du cinéma ''Cahiers du Cinéma'' (, ) is a French film magazine co-founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca.Itzkoff, Dave (9 February 2009''Cahiers Du Cinéma Will Continue to Publish''The New York TimesMacnab, Ge ...

''. Assayas's film '' Cold Water'' was screened in the

section at the

1994 Cannes Film Festival The 47th Cannes Film Festival was held from 12 to 23 May 1994. The Palme d'Or went to the American film ''Pulp Fiction'' directed by Quentin Tarantino. The festival opened with ''The Hudsucker Proxy'', directed by Joel Coen and closed with ''Seri ...

. His biggest hit to date has been ''

'', starring Hong Kong star

Maggie Cheung Maggie Cheung Man-yuk (; born 20 September 1964) is a Hong Kong former actress. Raised in Hong Kong and Britain, she started her career after placing second in 1983's Miss Hong Kong Pageant. She achieved critical success in the late 1980s and in ...

, which manages to be a tribute both to French director

Louis Feuillade Louis Feuillade (; 19 February 1873 – 25 February 1925) was a French filmmaker of the silent era. Between 1906 and 1924, he directed over 630 films. He is primarily known for the crime serials ''Fantômas'', ''Les Vampires'' and ''Judex'' ...

and to

Hong Kong cinema The cinema of Hong Kong ( zh, t=香港電影) is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the cinema of China and the cinema of Taiwan. As a former British colony, Hong Kong had a greater degree of po ...

. While working at ''

'', Assayas wrote lovingly about European film directors he admires but also about Asian directors. One of his films, ''HHH: A Portrait of Hou Hsiao-hsien'', is a documentary about Taiwanese filmmaker

Hou Hsiao-hsien Hou Hsiao-hsien (; born 8 April 1947) is a Mainland Chinese-born Taiwanese film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He is a leading figure in world cinema and in Taiwan's New Wave cinema movement. He won the Golden Lion at the Venice ...

. He married Cheung in 1998. They divorced in 2001, but their relationship remained amicable, and in 2004 Cheung made her film '' Clean'' with him. He met actress-director

Mia Hansen-Løve Mia Hansen-Løve (born 5 February 1981) is a French film director, screenwriter, and former actress. She has won several accolades for her work. Her first feature film, '' All Is Forgiven'', won the Louis Delluc Prize for Best First Film in 2007 ...

when Hansen-Løve, seventeen at the time, starred in Assayas's 1998 feature '' Late August, Early September'', but "

hey Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...

didn't get together until hewas 20". They separated in 2017. In 2009 and 2010, Assayas signed two petitions in support of director

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a (né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two ...

, who had been detained while traveling to a film festival in relation to his 1977 sexual abuse charges, which the first petition argued would undermine the tradition of film festivals as a place for works to be shown "freely and safely", and that arresting filmmakers traveling to neutral countries could open the door "for actions of which no-one can know the effects." He directed and co-wrote the acclaimed 2010 French television miniseries '' Carlos'', about the life of the terrorist

Ilich Ramírez Sánchez Ilich Ramírez Sánchez (; born 12 October 1949), also known as Carlos the Jackal ( es, link=no, Carlos el Chacal) or simply Carlos, is a Venezuelan convicted of terrorist crimes, and currently serving a life sentence in France for the 1975 murder ...

. Venezuelan actor

Édgar Ramírez Édgar Filiberto Ramírez Arellano (, born 25 March 1977) is a Venezuelan actor. Ramírez studied communications at the Andrés Bello Catholic University. He then worked in media and considered becoming a diplomat. When Guillermo Arriaga prai ...

won the

César Award for Most Promising Actor The César Award for Most Promising Actor (french: César du meilleur espoir masculin) is one of the César Awards, presented annually by the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma to recognize the outstanding breakthrough performance of a y ...

in 2011 for his performance as Carlos. In April 2011, it was announced that he would be a member of the jury for the main competition at the

2011 Cannes Film Festival The 64th Cannes Film Festival was held from 11 to 22 May 2011. American actor Robert De Niro served as the president of the jury for the main competition and French filmmaker Michel Gondry headed the jury for the short film competition. South Ko ...

. His 2012 film, ''

Something in the Air "Something in the Air" is a song by English rock band Thunderclap Newman, written by Speedy Keen who also sang the song. It was a No. 1 single for three weeks in the UK Singles Chart in July 1969. The song has been used for films, television ...

'', was selected to compete for the

Golden Lion The Golden Lion ( it, Leone d'oro) is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguishe ...

at the

69th Venice International Film Festival The 69th annual Venice International Film Festival, organized by Venice Biennale, took place at Venice Lido from 29 August to 8 September 2012. The festival opened with the Indian director Mira Nair's ''The Reluctant Fundamentalist'', and clos ...

. Assayas won the Osella for Best Screenplay at Venice. His 2014 film ''

'' was selected to compete for the

in the main competition section at the

2014 Cannes Film Festival The 67th Cannes Film Festival was held from 14 to 25 May 2014. New Zealand film director Jane Campion was the head of the jury for the main competition section. The Palme d'Or was awarded to the Turkish film '' Winter Sleep'' directed by Nuri Bi ...

. ''Sils Maria'' won the

Louis Delluc Prize The Louis Delluc Prize (french: Prix Louis-Delluc ) is a French film award presented annually since 1937. The award is bestowed to the Best Film and Best First Film of the year on the second week of each December. The jury is composed of 20 members, ...

and garnered six

César Award Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt * César Award, a French film award Places * Cesar, Portugal * C ...

nominations including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. The film won a

César Award for Best Supporting Actress The César Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (French: ''César de la meilleure actrice dans un second rôle'') is one of the César Awards, presented annually by the ''Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma'' to recognize the outst ...

for American actress

. In 2016, Assayas won Best Director Award (Cannes Film Festival) for ''

'', which also starred

. In June 2017, it was announced that Assayas would preside over the 2017 70th anniversary

Locarno Film Festival The Locarno Film Festival is an annual film festival, held every August in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narrative, documentary, s ...

Style and influences

In an interview with Nick Pinkerton of ''Reverse Shot'', Assayas talked about his influences: Assayas participated in the 2012 ''Sight & Sound'' directors' poll, where he listed his ten favorite films as follows: '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'', '' The Gospel According to St. Matthew'', '' Ludwig'', ''

A Man Escaped ''A Man Escaped or The Wind Bloweth Where It Listeth'' (french: Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut, which literally translates as: "A man condemned to death has escaped or The wind blows where it wants"; the subtitl ...

'', ''

Mirror A mirror or looking glass is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror will show an image of whatever is in front of it, when focused through the lens of the eye or a camera. Mirrors reverse the ...

'', ''

Napoléon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

'', ''

Playtime ''Playtime'' (stylized as ''PlayTime'' and also written as ''Play Time'') is a 1967 comedy film directed by Jacques Tati. In the film, Tati again plays Monsieur Hulot, the popular character who had central roles in his earlier films ''Les Vacanc ...

'', ''

The Rules of the Game ''The Rules of the Game'' (original French title: ''La règle du jeu'') is a 1939 French Satire, satirical comedy-drama film directed by Jean Renoir. The ensemble cast includes Nora Gregor, Paulette Dubost, Mila Parély, Marcel Dalio, Julien ...

'', ''

The Tree of Life ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', and ''

Van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inclu ...

''.

Filmography

Film

As a writer only *''Passage secret'' (1985) *'' Rendez-vous'' (1985) *''L'Unique'' (1986) *'' Scene of the Crime'' (1986) *''Avril brisé'' (1987) *''Filha da Mãe'' (1990) *''

Alice and Martin ''Alice et Martin '' (US title: ''Alice and Martin'') is a 1998 French film, a psychological drama, directed by André Téchiné. It stars Juliette Binoche and Alexis Loret. It is Téchiné's second collaboration with Binoche after the 1985 fil ...

'' (1998) *''

Based on a True Story Based on a True Story may refer to: Albums * ''Based on a T.R.U. Story'', by 2 Chainz, 2012 * '' Based on a True Story...'', by Blake Shelton, 2013 * ''Based on a True Story'' (The Del-Lords album), 1988 * ''Based on a True Story'' (Fat Freddy's ...

'' (2017) - Co-written with

Television

Short films

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * *
''New York Times'' article on Assayas

Bringing Down the House: A Conversation with Olivier Assayas
The Notebook, mubi.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Assayas, Olivier 1955 births Living people Film directors from Paris Sorbonne Nouvelle University Paris 3 alumni Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Director winners Georges Delerue Award winners French people of Greek-Jewish descent French people of Turkish-Jewish descent French Sephardi Jews Mizrahi Jews French screenwriters French film critics Postmodernist filmmakers

Life and career

Style and influences

Filmography

Film

Television

Short films

Awards and nominations

References

Further reading

External links