Philippe Claudel (born 2 February 1962) is a French writer and film director. Claudel was born in

Dombasle-sur-Meurthe Dombasle-sur-Meurthe (, literally ''Dombasle on Meurthe'') is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France, close to the city of Nancy. History Dombasle is one of the main production sites for sodium carbonate in the ...

, Meurthe-et-Moselle. In addition to his writing, Claudel is a Professor of Literature at the

University of Nancy A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. He directed the 2008 film ''

I've Loved You So Long ''I've Loved You So Long'' (french: Il y a longtemps que je t'aime) is a 2008 French-Canadian drama film written and directed by Philippe Claudel. It tells the story of a woman struggling to interact with her family and find her place in society a ...

'' (''Il y a longtemps que je t'aime''). Much admired, it won the 2009 BAFTA for the best film not in English.

Life

After studying in Nancy, he remained there and for eleven years worked as a teacher in prisons. Contact with his students inspired short stories, novels, and then screenplays. He has said that the experience made him give up his simple opinions about people, about guilt, about the water to judge others. "It's clear to me now that it would have been impossible for me to write a novel like ''Brodeck's Report'' or ''Grey Souls'', to make a movie like ''I've Loved You So Long'', if I hadn't been in jail."

Awards

His best-known work to date is the novel '' Les Âmes grises'' (Grey Souls), which won the

Prix Renaudot The Prix Théophraste-Renaudot or Prix Renaudot () is a French literary award. History The prize was created in 1926 by ten art critics awaiting the results of deliberation of the jury of the Prix Goncourt. While not officially related to the ...

in France, was shortlisted for the American

Gumshoe Award The Gumshoe Awards are an American award for popular crime fiction literary works. The Gumshoe Awards are awarded annually by the American Internet magazine ''Mystery Ink'' (not to be confused with Mystery Inc.) to recognize the best achievements ...

, and won Sweden's

Martin Beck Award The Martin Beck Award is an award given by the Swedish Crime Writers' Academy (''Svenska Deckarakademin'') for the best crime novel in translation. It is one of the most prestigious international crime-writing awards. The Award is named after Martin ...

. He won the 2003

Prix Goncourt de la Nouvelle The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward o ...

for ''Les petites mécaniques'', and the 2010 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, for ''Brodeck’s Report'', ' his hallucinatory story – almost a dark fairy-tale in which

Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It typ ...

meets the

Grimms GRIMMS was an English pop rock, comedy and poetry group, originally formed as a merger of The Scaffold with core members of the Bonzo Dog Band and the Liverpool Scene for two concerts in 1971 at the suggestion of John Gorman. The band's ...

– of an uneasy homecoming after wrenching tragedy." His debut film

won the

BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language The BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language is given annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and presented at the British Academy Film Awards. The award was first given at the 36th British Academy Film Awards, rec ...

. Claudel also won the

César Award for Best First Feature Film The César Award for Best First Feature Film (french: César du meilleur premier film) is an award presented by the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma since 1982. It was originally named the César Award for Best Debut (César de la meil ...

for the film.

Works

Novels

*''Quelques-uns des cent regrets: roman'', Balland, 1999 *''Le Bruit des trousseaux'' (2002) *''

Grey souls Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...

'' (''Les Âmes grises'') (2003); Librairie générale française, 2006, .

Grand prix des lectrices de Elle The Grand prix des lectrices de Elle is a French literary prize awarded by readers of ''Elle'' magazine. History Unlike other literary prizes that have professionals for their juries and selection committees, the Grand prix des lectrices de Elle i ...

, Translator

Adriana Hunter Adriana Hunter is a British translator of French literature. She is known for translating over 60 French novels, such as ''Fear and Trembling'' by Amélie Nothomb or ''The Girl Who Played Go'' by Shan Sa. She has been short-listed for the Indepen ...

, Weidenfeld & Nicolson/Phoenix House, 2005, . ; Random House Digital, 2007, *''

Monsieur Linh and His Child ''Monsieur Linh and His Child'' is a novella by French author Philippe Claudel, originally published in French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originate ...

'' (''La Petite Fille de Monsieur Linh''), Translator Euan Cameron, Stock, 2005, ; Quercus, 2011, *''

Brodeck's Report ''Brodeck's Report'' (french: Le Rapport de Brodeck) is a 2007 novel by the French writer Philippe Claudel. The narrative investigates the murder of a mysterious man in an indefinite country just after the war. The book won the Prix Goncourt des Ly ...

'' (''Le Rapport de Brodeck''), Translator John Cullen, 2007. *''

The Investigator ''The Investigator'' (1954) was a radio play written by Reuben Ship and first broadcast by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) on May 30 of that year. The play lampooned the actions of the U.S. House Committee on Un-American Activities ...

'' (''L'Enquête''), Paris, Stock, 2010, 278 p., ; Doubleday, 2012, Translator John Cullen, *'' Parfums'', 2012, Paris, Stock, 224 p. () *''L’Arbre du pays Toraja'', 2016 () (''The Tree of the Toraja''), Translator Euan Cameron, MacLehose Press Editions 2018 () *''Inhumaines'', 2017, Stock, () *''L'Archipel du Chien'', 2018, Stock ()

Films

*''

'', 2008, with Kristin Scott Thomas and

Elsa Zylberstein Elsa Zylberstein (born Elsa Florence Zylbersztejn, 16 October 1968) is a French film, TV, and stage actress. After studying drama, Zylberstein began her film career in 1989, and has appeared in more than 60 films. She won the César Award for Be ...

*''

Tous les soleils ''Tous les soleils'' ( en, All the Suns) is a 2011 French film written and directed by Philippe Claudel.. The film also has been titled ""The Silence of Love"" in a version with English subtitles. Plot Alessandro is an Italian teacher who is dete ...

'', 2011, with Stefano Accorsi, Neri Marcorè, Lisa Cipriani, Clotilde Courau, Anouk Aimée *'' Before the Winter Chill'', 2013, with Kristin Scott Thomas,

Daniel Auteuil Daniel Auteuil (; born 24 January 1950) is a French actor and director who has appeared in a wide range of film genres, including period dramas, romantic comedies, and crime thrillers. In 1996 he won the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Fest ...

and

Leïla Bekhti Yasmine Leïla Bekhti (born 6 March 1984) is a French film and television actress. She is best known for her roles in ''Tout ce qui brille'' (2007) and, in 2006, ''Paris, je t'aime'' and ''Sheitan (film), Sheitan''. Early life Bekhti was born in ...

*''

A Childhood ''A Childhood'' (french: Une Enfance) is a 2015 French drama film written and directed by Philippe Claudel. Plot Jimmy is 13 years old and lives in a small dilapidated town in eastern France. At a young age, he has to stand on his own feet and ...

'' (2015)

Adaptations

*''Les Âmes grises'', 2005, directed by

Yves Angelo Yves Angelo (born 22 January 1956) is a French cinematographer, film director and screenwriter. Angelo has won the César Award for Best Cinematography three times: in 1990 for '' Nocturne indien'', in 1992 for '' Tous les matins du monde'', ...

, with

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 Milles ...

Jacques Villeret Jacques Villeret (; 6 February 1951 – 28 January 2005) was a French actor, best known internationally for his role as François Pignon in the comedy ''Le Dîner de Cons''. During his career, he earned many awards including the prestigious ...

. Distributed by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Claudel, Philippe 1962 births Living people People from Meurthe-et-Moselle 20th-century French novelists 20th-century male writers 21st-century French novelists Prix Renaudot winners Prix Goncourt des lycéens winners Prix Goncourt de la nouvelle recipients Nancy-Université faculty French male screenwriters French screenwriters French film directors Filmmakers who won the Best Foreign Language Film BAFTA Award Knights of the Order of Cultural Merit (Monaco)