Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache are French filmmakers, best known for directing the films '' Those Happy Days'' (2006) and ''

The Intouchables ''The Intouchables'' (, ), also known as ''Untouchable'' in the UK, Ireland, and Scandinavia, is a 2011 French buddy comedy-drama film written and directed by Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache. It stars François Cluzet and Omar Sy. The plo ...

'' (2011).

Early life

Éric Toledano was born on 3 July 1971 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Olivier Nakache was born on 15 April 1973 in

Suresnes Suresnes () is a commune in the western inner suburbs of Paris, France. Located in Hauts-de-Seine, from the centre of Paris, it had a population of 49,482 as of 2020. Suresnes borders the Bois de Boulogne in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, ...

, Hauts-de-Seine. Toledano and Nakache are both Jewish. Toledano's parents were immigrants from

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

, while Nakache's parents were from Algeria.

Career

Toledano and Nakache collaborated several times before directing ''The Intouchables'' (2011), which became one of the greatest box office successes in French film history and for which they were nominated for several awards, including three Cesar Awards. They have collaborated several times with actor

Omar Sy Omar Sy (, ; born 20 January 1978) is a French actor, best known in France for his sketches with Fred Testot on the '' Service après-vente des émissions'' television show on Canal+ (2005–2012). He gained wider recognition for his role in the ...

, most recently in the 2014 film ''

Samba Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...

''. Their 2019 film ''

The Specials The Specials, also known as the Special AKA, were an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, J ...

'' stars

Vincent Cassel Vincent Cassel (; ; born 23 November 1966) is a French actor. He has earned a César Awards, César Award and a Canadian Screen Awards, Canadian Screen Award as well as nominations for a European Film Awards, European Film Award and a Screen Ac ...

and

Reda Kateb Reda Kateb (; ; born 27 July 1977) is a French actor. Life and career Kateb was born in Ivry-sur-Seine, France, to an Algerian actor, Malek-Eddine Kateb, and a French nurse of Czech and Italian origin. He is a grandnephew of the Algerian writer ...

. The film shows Parisians from many different groups in society making connections with each other through their work with

autistic Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...

children and young people. Toledano and Nakache directed '' En thérapie'', the French version of the Israeli series ''

BeTipul ''BeTipul'' (; lit. ''In Therapy'') is an Israeli television drama, winner of the Television Academy Award revolving around the personal and professional life of an Israeli psychologist, Reuven Dagan, played by Assi Dayan. The series portrays a ...

'', created by Hagai Levi, about a psychologist and his patients. It debuted on Arte TV in January 2021, starring Frédéric Pierrot,

Mélanie Thierry Mélanie Thierry (born 17 July 1981) is a French actress. Early life and career Mélanie Thierry began her career as a model in France, then moved into acting. She began with a series of roles in French productions, and at the age of 17 appeared ...

Clémence Poésy Clémence Guichard (born 30 October 1982), known professionally as Clémence Poésy (), is a French actress and fashion model. After starting on the stage as a child, Poésy studied drama and has been active in both film and television since 19 ...

Pio Marmaï Pio Marmaï (born 13 July 1984) is a French actor. He has appeared in more than twenty films since 2008. Early life and education Marmaï was born on 13 July 1984. His mother is a former costume designer at the Opéra de Strasbourg, and his fa ...

, and Carole Bouquet. The series is set in the aftermath of the Bataclan attack in 2015. A second season was aired from April 2022, with each series comprising 35 episodes. The show aired on

SBS Television The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from tax revenue. SBS operates six TV channels ( SBS, SBS Viceland, SBS World Movies, SBS ...

in Australia as ''In Therapy''. Their next film, ''A Difficult Year'', premiered at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival.

Filmography

References

External links

* * French film directors French male screenwriters French screenwriters Jewish film people Living people 1971 births 1973 births French people of Algerian-Jewish descent French people of Moroccan-Jewish descent Filmmaking duos Screenwriting duos {{France-film-director-stub