Serge Silberman (1 May 1917 – 22 July 2003) was a French film producer.

Early life

Silberman was born in

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of ca ...

, then a part of the

Regency Kingdom of Poland A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

in a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Silberman survived

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

s and eventually settled in Paris.

Career

One of his first works as a film producer was Jean-Pierre Melville's 1955 film '' Bob the Gambler'', a precursor to the

French New Wave French New Wave (french: La Nouvelle Vague) is a French art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentation and a spirit of iconocla ...

movement. Silberman's most notable collaborations were with the

surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...

film director

Luis Buñuel Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish-Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico, and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians, and directors to be one of the greatest and ...

. The pair, along with screenwriter

Jean-Claude Carrière Jean-Claude Carrière (; 17 September 1931 – 8 February 2021) was a French novelist, screenwriter and actor. He received an Academy Award for best short film for co-writing '' Heureux Anniversaire'' (1963), and was later conferred an Honorary ...

, who Silberman introduced to Buñuel, worked together on a number of films, starting with the 1964 film '' Diary of a Chambermaid''. Silberman produced most of Buñuel's late films, including 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 ...

winner ''

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie ''The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie'' (french: Le Charme discret de la bourgeoisie) is a 1972 surrealist film directed by Luis Buñuel from a screenplay co-written with Jean-Claude Carrière. The narrative concerns a group of bourgeois people ...

'' in 1972 and the director's last film ''

That Obscure Object of Desire ''That Obscure Object of Desire'' (french: Cet obscur objet du désir; es, Ese oscuro objeto del deseo) is a 1977 comedy-drama film directed by Luis Buñuel, based on the 1898 novel '' The Woman and the Puppet'' by Pierre Louÿs. It was Buñuel's ...

'' in 1977. Silberman founded his own production company, Greenwich Film Productions, in 1966. The company was responsible for the production of over 15 films. In 1981, Silberman produced his most financially successful film,

Jean-Jacques Beineix Jean-Jacques Beineix (; 8 October 1946 – 13 January 2022) was a French film director best known for the films ''Diva'' and '' Betty Blue''. His work is regarded as a prime example of the '' cinéma du look'' film movement in France. Early lif ...

's '' Diva''. The film was not well received in the country of its origin, France, but became a box-office hit abroad. The money gained from the movie enabled Silberman to provide funding for

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dyna ...

's ambitious 1985 film '' Ran'', which at the time of its making was the most expensive Japanese film ever. Silberman was awarded an honorary

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 * Ces ...

in 1988.

Death

He died in Paris in 2003 at the age of 86.

Selected filmography

*''

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'' (1964) * ''

Love in the Night ''Love in the Night'' (French: ''Vivre la nuit'', Italian: ''La ragazza della notte'') is a 1968 French-Italian drama film directed by Marcel Camus and starring Jacques Perrin, Catherine Jourdan and Georges Géret.Rège p.168 Cast * Jacques Per ...

'' (1968)

References

External links

* *
Serge Silberman at Allmovie
by Ronald Bergan, originally appeared in

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silberman, Serge 1917 births 2003 deaths French film producers Russian Jews César Honorary Award recipients Filmmakers who won the Best Foreign Language Film BAFTA Award Polish emigrants to France