Sophie Barthes (born 1974) is a French-American film director and screenwriter best known for her 2009 film ''

Cold Souls ''Cold Souls'' is a 2009 comedy-drama, comedy-drama film written and directed by Sophie Barthes. The film features Paul Giamatti, Dina Korzun, Emily Watson, and David Strathairn. Giamatti stars as a fictionalised version of himself, an anxious, ove ...

''.

Early life

Barthes was born in France and was raised in South America and the Middle East. She moved to New York in 2001 to attend the

Columbia University School of the Arts The Columbia University School of the Arts, (also known as School of the Arts or SoA) is the fine arts graduate school of Columbia University in Morningside Heights, New York. It offers Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degrees in Film, Visual Arts, ...

and also studied international relations, earning her degree in 2003.

Career

Barthes'

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

''Happiness'', which tells the story of a woman who purchases a box of happiness and cannot decide if she should open it, was shown at the

2007 Sundance Film Festival The 2007 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 18 until January 28, 2007, in Park City, Utah with screenings in Salt Lake City, Utah and Ogden, Utah. It was the 23-rd iteration of the Sundance Film Festival. The opening night film was '' Chica ...

. The film was well-received and earned her a place in the

Sundance Institute Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by Robert Redford committed to the growth of independent artists. The institute is driven by its programs that discover and support independent filmmakers, theatre artists and composers f ...

's Screenwriters Lab, where she began to write the screenplay for her first feature film, ''

''. Barthes had first begun to develop the idea for ''Cold Souls'' in 2005, after she had a dream about

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

having his soul extracted. The film, directed by Barthes, premiered at the

2008 Sundance Film Festival The 2008 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 17, 2008 to January 27 in Park City, Utah. It was the 24th iteration of the Sundance Film Festival. The opening night film was ''In Bruges'' and the closing night film was '' CSNY Déjà Vu''. Films ...

, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. It was released in August 2009, and starred

Paul Giamatti Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti (; born June 6, 1967) is an American actor and film producer. He first garnered attention for his breakout role in '' Private Parts'' as Kenny "Pig Vomit" Rushton, leading to supporting roles in ''Saving Private R ...

as a fictionalized version of himself who decides to have his soul removed. Barthes received artists' grants from the

New York State Council on the Arts The New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) is an arts council serving the U.S. state of New York. It was established in 1960 through a bill introduced in the New York State Legislature by New York State Senator MacNeil Mitchell (1905–1996), ...

for both ''Happiness'' and ''Cold Souls'', and both films received awards and nominations from numerous film festivals. She was a resident at the Nantucket Screenwriters Colony, the 2007 Sundance Screenwriters Lab, and the 2007 Sundance Directors Lab. At the

25th Independent Spirit Awards The 25th Independent Spirit Awards, honoring the best independent films of 2009, were presented on March 5, 2010. The nominations were announced on December 1, 2009. The ceremony was hosted by Eddie Izzard. Winners and nominees Films wi ...

, held in 2010, Barthes was nominated for the Best First Screenplay for ''Cold Souls''. Barthes' second feature is ''

Madame Bovary ''Madame Bovary'' (; ), originally published as ''Madame Bovary: Provincial Manners'' ( ), is a novel by France, French writer Gustave Flaubert, published in 1856. The eponymous character lives beyond her means in order to escape the banalities ...

'', an adaptation of

Gustave Flaubert Gustave Flaubert ( , , ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. Highly influential, he has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flauber ...

's novel of the same name to be released in 2014.

Personal life

Barthes lives in the East Village of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

with her partner, cinematographer

Andrij Parekh Andrij Parekh (born September 20, 1971) is an American cinematographer and television director. Early life Parekh was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts of Ukrainian and Indian descent. Parekh went to high school in Minnesota at The Blake School ...

, who filmed ''Cold Souls'' and ''Madame Bovary'' with Barthes.

Filmography

Feature films

*''

'' (2009) *''

'' (2014) *''

The Pod Generation ''The Pod Generation'' is a 2023 science fiction romantic comedy film written and directed by Sophie Barthes. The film was released at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival on 19 January 2023. Premise A couple in futuristic New York uses technology ...

'' (TBA)

Short films

*''Happiness'' (2006)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barthes, Sophie 1974 births Living people French women film directors French women screenwriters French screenwriters American film directors American women film directors American women screenwriters Columbia University School of the Arts alumni French emigrants to the United States People from the East Village, Manhattan 21st-century American women School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University alumni