Olivier Dahan (born 26 June 1967) is a French

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...

and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

. His third directed film, '' La Vie en rose'', was one of the only French cinema films to win two

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

, including the first acting Oscar in the

French language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in N ...

Biography

Dahan was born in La Ciotat,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, to a father of Algerian-Jewish origin. In 1991, Olivier Dahan received a diploma in art at the Art school of

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

, then shot several short subjects and clips. In the beginning of 2004, he decided to shoot a film on the life of the French singer

Édith Piaf Édith Piaf (, , ; born Édith Giovanna Gassion, ; December 19, 1915– October 10, 1963) was a French singer, lyricist and actress. Noted as France's national chanteuse, she was one of the country's most widely known international stars. Pi ...

. The film was a success and the actress Marion Cotillard won the

Academy Award for Best Actress The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year ...

. Upon accepting the award, she credited Olivier Dahan for changing her life in whole and as an actress. In the afterwards of the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

ceremony, Olivier Dahan started to work on an English-language road movie named '' My Own Love Song'' released on April 7, 2010.

Selected filmography

Feature films

* '' Frères'' (

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...

), starring Nabil El Bouhairi, Véronique Octon, Samy Naceri, & Romain Duris * '' Déjà mort'' ( 1998), starring Romain Duris, Benoît Magimel and Zoé Félix * '' Le Petit Poucet'' (

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

), starring Élodie Bouchez,

Romane Bohringer Romane Bohringer (; born 14 August 1973) is a French actress, film director, screenwriter, and costume designer. She is the daughter of Richard Bohringer and sister of Lou Bohringer. Her parents named her after Roman Polanski. She won the C� ...

and Catherine Deneuve * ''

La Vie promise ''La vie promise'' is a 2002 French film directed by Olivier Dahan, written by Olivier Dahan and Agnès Fustier-Dahan, and starring by Isabelle Huppert, Pascal Greggory and Maud Forget. Main cast *Isabelle Huppert as Sylvia *Pascal Greggory as J ...

'' (

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

), starring

Isabelle Huppert Isabelle Anne Madeleine Huppert (; born 16 March 1953) is a French actress. Described as "one of the best actresses in the world", she is known for her portrayals of cold and disdainful characters devoid of morality. She is the recipient of sev ...

and

Pascal Greggory Pascal Greggory (born 8 September 1954) is a French actor. Personal life Greggory is openly gay. He had long-term relationships with Patrice Chéreau and François-Marie Banier. Filmography * '' Les Sœurs Brontë'' (1979) by André Téchiné ...

* '' Crimson Rivers II: Angels of the Apocalypse'' (

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

), starring Jean Reno, Benoît Magimel and

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a long career spanning more than 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultim ...

* '' La Vie en rose'' (

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

), starring Marion Cotillard, Sylvie Testud and Clotilde Courau * '' My Own Love Song'' (

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

), starring Renée Zellweger,

Forest Whitaker Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. After making his f ...

and Nick Nolte * '' The Dream Team'' ( 2012) starring José García,

Jean-Pierre Marielle Jean-Pierre Marielle (12 April 1932 – 24 April 2019) was a French actor. He appeared in more than a hundred films in which he played very diverse roles, from a banal citizen ('' Les Galettes de Pont-Aven''), to a World War II hero ('' Les Mill ...

Gad Elmaleh Gad Elmaleh ( ar, جاد المالح, Latn, ar, Gād el-Māleḥ; born 19 April 1971) is a Moroccan-Canadian stand-up comedian and actor who achieved fame in France, Morocco and the United States. He is best known in the French-speaking wor ...

, Joeystarr and Omar Sy * '' Grace of Monaco'' (

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

), starring Nicole Kidman, Tim Roth and

Frank Langella Frank A. Langella Jr. (; born January 1, 1938) is an American stage and film actor. He has won four Tony Awards: two for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his performance as Richard Nixon in Peter Morgan's '' Frost/Nixon'' and as André in Flor ...

* '' Simone Veil, A Woman of the Century'' (2021)

Musicals

* '' Mozart, l'opéra rock'' (2009)

Awards and nominations

Nominations: * BAFTA – Best Film Not in the English Language for '' La Vie en rose'' (shared with Alain Goldmen) * Berlin International Film Festival –

Golden Berlin Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The win ...

for ''La Vie en rose'' *

César Awards The César Award is the national film award of France. It is delivered in the ' ceremony and was first awarded in 1976. The nominations are selected by the members of twelve categories of filmmaking professionals and supported by the French Mi ...

– Best Director, Best Film (shared with Alain Goldmen) and Best Original Writing for ''La Vie en rose'' * European Film Awards – Best Film for ''La Vie en rose'' * Globe de Cristal – Best Film for ''La Vie en rose'' * San Sebastián International Film Festival – Golden Seashell for ''La Vie promise'' * Satellite Awards – Best Director for ''La Vie en rose'' Wins: * Philadelphia Film Festival – Audience Award – Best Feature Film for ''La Vie en rose'' * Torino International Festival of Young Cinema – FIPRESCI Prize, Special Mention for ''Tous les garçons et les filles de leur âge''

References

External links

* 1967 births 20th-century French Sephardi Jews French film directors French male screenwriters French screenwriters Living people French-language film directors People from La Ciotat {{France-film-director-stub