Valérie Donzelli (born 2 March 1973) is a French

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

and screenwriter. She has directed five feature films and two short films since 2008, including the film ''Declaration of War'' (2011).

Early life

Valérie Donzelli was born in Épinal (

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

). She grew up in

Créteil Créteil () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Créteil is the ''préfecture'' (capital) of the Val-de-Marne department as well as the seat of the Arrondissement of Cr� ...

, near

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. She moved to

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the N ...

with her family when she was 14 years old before going back to Paris at the age of 19. Before starting to work in the cinema, Donzelli first studied architecture, but abandoned it quickly. She started playing theatre at the municipal conservatory of the 10th arrondissement of Paris, but always kept a bad memory of this period. For a living, she worked at a bakery in Paris. She met Jérémie Elkaïm at that time, who became her partner, both in life and at work, and who encouraged her to quit the conservatory and her job at the bakery to become an actress. They now have two kids; the oldest one, Gabriel, inspired the movie ''Declaration of War''. They are now separated, but still have a close relationship.

Career

In 2001, Valérie Donzelli was the leading actress in ''Martha Martha'', by Sandrine Veysset, which was presented at

Directors' Fortnight The Directors' Fortnight (french: Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) is an independent selection of the Cannes Film Festival. It was started in 1969 by the French Directors Guild after the events of May 1968 resulted in cancellation of the Cannes festiv ...

, ''Le Plus Beau Jour de ma vie'', and also ''

Entre ses mains ''Entre ses mains'' is a 2005 French-Belgian drama film directed by Anne Fontaine. It is also known as ''In His Hands''. The screenplay was written by Fontaine and Julien Boivent. Plot Claire Gauthier works for an insurance company. Laurent Kessl ...

''. She achieved great success among French public thanks to the French TV show ''

Clara Sheller Clara Sheller is a French television series created by Nicolas Mercier after the idea of Stéphanie Tchou-Cotta that was aired from 18 May 2005 to 3 December 2008 on France 2. The casting was completely changed between the first and second season, b ...

'' (2005), in which she plays Jeanne, best friend of the main character. Donzelli's first film, The Queen of Hearts ('), in which she was the leading actress, was more successful than expected. Jérémie Elkaïm is also co-writer. The film was presented at

Locarno International 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, ...

. Despite its low budget, the film can be considered a success because of its 30,000 spectators. In 2011, with the help of her now ex-partner Jérémie Elkaïm, Valérie Donzelli directed her second full-length feature film, ''Declaration of War''. This movie, presented during the 2011 Cannes Festival, achieved great success, both with the public and critics, in France. It is directly inspired by their private life, relating how their couple fought against their son's cancer when he was 18 months. As Tim Palmer notes, "''Declaration of War'' serves as an emblematic, even quintessential, contemporary French production: a barometer to gauge film industry standards and prevailing French cultural taste, a standard-bearer of ostensibly progressive materials, an ambassador text for French screen values." The movie was selected for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2012, but was not part of the final list. Donzelli directed once again Jérémie Elkaïm in ''Main dans la main'' (2012), with also

Valérie Lemercier Valérie Lemercier (; born 9 March 1964) is a French actress, screenwriter, director and singer. Life and career Born in Dieppe, Seine-Maritime as the daughter of farmers, Lemercier grew up in Gonzeville and then studied at the Rouen Conserva ...

in the leading role. Donzelli considers that this is always a politic and engaged gesture to make films as women, and admires Agnès Varda for her work and her status of first women filmmaker into French Cinema. Valérie Donzelli is part of the jury during

in 2013. She presents ''Que d'Amour!'', a TV adaptation from the play ''

The Game of Love and Chance ''The Game of Love and Chance'' (french: Le Jeu de l'amour et du hasard) is a three-act romantic comedy by French playwright Marivaux. ''The Game of Love and Chance'' was first performed 23 January 1730 by the Comédie Italienne. In this play, ...

'' (''Le Jeu de l'Amour et du Hasard''), by ''

Marivaux Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux (4 February 1688 – 12 February 1763), commonly referred to as Marivaux, was a French playwright and novelist. He is considered one of the most important French playwrights of the 18th century, writing num ...

'', with

Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...

' sociétaires. Her 2015 film '' Marguerite & Julien'' was selected to compete 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 ...

at the

2015 Cannes Film Festival The 68th Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 May 2015. Joel and Ethan Coen were the Presidents of the Jury for the main competition. It was the first time that two people chaired the jury. Since the Coen brothers each received a separate ...

. She was named as the President of the Jury of the

International Critics' Week The International Critics' Week (french: Semaine de la Critique) was founded in 1962 and is organized by the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics. It was created following the showing of '' The Connection'' directed by Shirley Clarke which had been ...

section of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.

Filmography

Actress

Features

*2001: ''Martha Martha'' by Sandrine Veysset: Martha *2001: ''Les Âmes câlines'' by Thomas Bardinet: Émilie *2003: '' That Woman'' by Guillaume Nicloux: Claire Atken *2003: '' Who Killed Bambi?'' by Gilles Marchand: Nathalie *2005: ''Mystification ou l'histoire des portraits'' by Sandrine Rinaldi: Emilie *2005: ''Le Plus Beau Jour de ma vie'' by Julie Lipinski: Éléonore *2005: ''

'' by

Anne Fontaine Anne Fontaine (born Anne-Fontaine Sibertin-Blanc; 15 July 1959) is a Luxembourger film director, screenwriter, and former actress. She lives and works in France. Life and career Born Anne-Fontaine Sibertin-Blanc in Luxembourg, sister of actor ...

: Valérie *2005: ''Voici venu le temps'' by Alain Guiraudie: Soniéra Noubi-Datch *2006: ''L'Intouchable'' by Benoît Jacquot: theatre actress *2006: ''L'Homme qui rêvait d'un enfant'' by Delphine Gleize: Suzanne *2007: ''Il fait beau dans la plus belle ville du monde'' by Valérie Donzelli *2007: 7 ans by Jean-Pascal Hattu : Maïté *2009: ''The Queen of Hearts'' by Valérie Donzelli: Adèle *2011: ''Declaration of War'' by Valérie Donzelli: Juliette *2011: ''Belleville Tokyo'' by Élise Girard: Marie Tourelle *2011: ''

Iris in Bloom ''Iris in Bloom'' (french: En ville; ) is a 2011 French romantic drama film directed and written by Valérie Mréjen and Bertrand Schefer in their directorial debut. It was screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2011 Cannes Film Fe ...

'' by Valérie Mréjen and Bertrand Schefer *2011: ''Pourquoi tu pleures?'' by Katia Lewkowicz: Anna *2011: ''L'Art de séduire'' by Guy Mazarguil: Estelle *2013: ''

The Big Bad Wolf The Big Bad Wolf is a fictional wolf appearing in several cautionary tales that include some of ''Grimms' Fairy Tales.'' Versions of this character have appeared in numerous works, and it has become a generic archetype of a menacing predatory an ...

'' by Nicolas Charlet and Bruno Lavaine *2013: '' Les Grandes Ondes (à l'ouest)'' by Lionel Baier : Julie *2013: ''Opium'' by Arielle Dombasle : Valentine Hugo *2014: ''Orage'' by Fabrice Camoin *2014: '' Saint Laurent'' by

Bertrand Bonello Bertrand Bonello (; born 11 September 1968) is a French film director, screenwriter, producer and composer. His background is in classical music, and he lives between Paris and Montreal. His work has also been associated with the New French Extre ...

: Renée *2015: '' The White Knights'' by

Joachim Lafosse Joachim Lafosse (born 18 January 1975) is a Belgian film director and screenwriter. Career Lafosse studied at the IAD (Institut des arts de diffusion) at Louvain-la-Neuve between 1997 and 2001. His graduation film ''Tribu'', a 24-minute short ...

: Françoise Dubois

Short films

*1998: ''Herbert C. Berliner'' by Marc Gibaja *1999: ''Le Spectateur'' by Marc Gibaja : Cynthia *2000: ''Demoiselle'' by Valérie Donzelli : Adèle *2001: ''Confessions dans un bain'' by Marc Gibaja : Sophie *2001: ''Le Chien, le chat et le cibachrome'' by Didier Blasco *2003: ''Ni vue, ni connue'' by Dorothée Sebbagh : Alice *2003: ''Le Lion volatil'' by Agnès Varda : La cliente en pleurs *2004: ''Frédérique amoureuse'' by Pierre Lacan : Frédérique *2004: ''Le Nécrophile'' by Philippe Barassat : La prostituée *2005: ''On est mort un million de fois'' by Dorothée Sebbagh : Valentine *2006: ''Odile...'' by Bénédicte Delgéhier : Odile *2007: ''Abattoir'' by Didier Blasco : Judith *2007: ''Il fait beau dans la plus belle ville du monde'' by Valérie Donzelli : Adèle *2008: ''C'est pour quand?'' by Katia Lewkowicz : La jeune fille *2009: ''Juliette'' by Sylvie Ballyot : Juliette *2010: ''Madeleine et le facteur'' by Valérie Donzelli : Madeleine *2010: ''Manu'' by Jérémie Elkaïm : Julie *2012: ''Révolution'' by Nadia Jandeau

Television

*1999: ''Dossier: disparus'' épisode ''Amanda'' by Frédéric Demont et Philippe Lefebvre: Amanda/Muriel *1999: ''Les Terres froides'' by

Sébastien Lifshitz Sébastien Lifshitz (born 21 January 1968) is a French screenwriter and director. He teaches at La Fémis, a school that focuses on the subject of image and sound. He studied at the École du Louvre, and has a bachelor's degree from the Universit ...

: Isabelle *2002: ''Sous mes yeux'' by Virginie Wagon: Alison *2003: ''Motus'' by Laurence Ferreira Barbosa: La stagiaire d'Antoine *2005: ''Le Cocon, débuts à l'hôpital'' by Pascale Dallet: Nathalie *2005: ''Clara Sheller'' by Renaud Bertrand: Jeanne *2006: ''Mentir un peu'' by Agnès Obadia: Blandine *2006: ''Passés troubles'' by Serge Meynard: Sophie Valatier *2007: ''Les Camarades'' by François Luciani (minisérie): Julie *2008: ''Sa raison d'être'' by Renaud Bertrand: Nathalie *2008: ''Mafiosa, le clan'' Saison 2 d' Eric Rochant: L'avocate *2009: ''La Belle vie'' by Virginie Wagon: Béa

Screenwriter

*2000: ''Demoiselle'' *2007: ''Il fait beau dans la plus belle ville du monde'' *2009: ''The Queen of Hearts'' *2010: ''Madeleine et le facteur'' *2011: ''Declaration of War'' *2012: ''La Vie parisienne'' de Vincent Dietschy (originale idea) *2012: ''Main dans la main''

Film director

Short films

*2007: ''Il fait beau dans la plus belle ville du monde'' *2010: ''Madeleine et le facteur''

Features

*2009: ''The Queen of Hearts'' *2010: ''Declaration of War'' *2012: ''Main dans la main'' *2013: ''Que d'amour'' *2015: '' Marguerite & Julien''

Television

*2013: ''Que d'amour!'' Adaptation from ''

'', by ''

Awards and nominations

*2010: Public Prize at the Angers European First Film Festival for ''The Queen of Hearts'' *2011: Valois d’Or at Festival du film francophone d’Angoulême for ' 'Declaration of War'' *2012: Grand Prix at Cabourg Film Festival for ''Declaration of War'' *2012: Jury Prize, Public Prize, and Bloggers Prix at the Festival Paris Cinéma for ' 'Declaration of War'' *2012
Étoile d'or du meilleur scénario
for ''Declaration of War'' *Nomination for

Best film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

for ''Declaration of War'', Cesar Awards 2012 *Nomination for Best Director for ''Declaration of War'', Cesar Awards 2012 *Nomination for

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...

for ''Declaration of War'', Cesar Awards 2012 *Nomination for Best Original Writing for ''Declaration of War'', Cesar Awards 2012

References

External links

* *Valérie Donzelli vi

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donzelli, Valerie 1973 births 20th-century French actresses 21st-century French actresses French film actresses French film directors French television actresses French women film directors Living people French people of Italian descent People from Épinal French women screenwriters French screenwriters

Early life

Career

Filmography

Actress

Features

Short films

Television

Screenwriter

Film director

Short films

Features

Television

Awards and nominations

References

Further reading

External links