Brigitte Roüan (born 28 September 1946) is a French director, screenwriter and actress.This article borrows largely from a profile of the artist in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. Riding, Alan. "When the Tables Are Turned in Adultery's Secret Rooms", ''The New York Times'', March 8, 1998

Life and career

Rouan was born into a French naval family in

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

in 1946. She was orphaned at age six and spent her childhood in Algeria and Senegal. At age 12, she left for

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

school in Paris. Her acting career began at age 21, on the stage. Her performance lead the way to small film roles for directors including

Alain Resnais Alain Resnais (; 3 June 19221 March 2014) was a French film director and screenwriter whose career extended over more than six decades. After training as a film editor in the mid-1940s, he went on to direct short films including '' Night and Fog ...

Jacques Rivette Jacques Rivette (; 1 March 1928 – 29 January 2016) was a French film director and film critic most commonly associated with the French New Wave and the film magazine '' Cahiers du Cinéma''. He made twenty-nine films, including '' L'Amour fo ...

, and

Bertrand Tavernier Bertrand Tavernier (; 25 April 1941 – 25 March 2021) was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer. Life and career Tavernier was born in Lyon, France, the son of Geneviève (née Dumond) and René Tavernier, a publicist and writer, ...

. Rouan became a director in her own right when she helmed a short film titled ''Grosse''. It won a

César Award Cesar or César may refer to: Arts and entertainment * César (film), ''César'' (film), a 1936 French romantic drama * César (film), ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt Places * Cesar, Portugal * Cesar Department, Colombia * Cesar R ...

in 1986. She would become a feature film director with ''Overseas'' (1990), which won the Critics' Week award at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival. She co-starred in the film with Marianne Basler and

Nicole Garcia Nicole Garcia (born 22 April 1946) is a French actress, film director and screenwriter. Her film '' Charlie Says'' was entered into the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. Her film '' Going Away'' was screened in the Special Presentation section at the ...

to portray sisters in colonial

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

during the 1950s. The now actor-director would continue in roles, including one in ''Olivier, Olivier'' (1991) for Polish director

Agnieszka Holland Agnieszka Holland (; born 28 November 1948) is a Polish film and television director and screenwriter, best known for her cultural and political contributions to Polish cinema. She began her career as an assistant to directors Krzysztof Zanuss ...

. Rouan's 1997 film '' Post Coitum, Animal Triste'' garnered attention for its depiction of an affair between a middle-aged woman (played by Rouan herself) and a younger man. The film was a success in its native country and received strong notices in America, where it screened at the

New York Film Festival The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center. Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, NYFF i ...

before playing to arthouse crowds. It was also screened in the

Un Certain Regard (; 'A Certain Glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films with unusua ...

section at the

1997 Cannes Film Festival The 50th Cannes Film Festival took place from 7 to 18 May 1997. French actress Isabelle Adjani served as jury president for the main competition. Jeanne Moreau hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. The Palme d'Or was jointly awarded to Iran ...

. In 1998, she was a member of the jury at the 48th Berlin International Film Festival.

Theater

Filmography

As actress - Cinema

As actress - Television

* '' Overseas'' (1990) as Malène * '' Les Agneaux'' (1996) * '' Unpredictable Nature of the River'' (1996) * '' Post Coitum, Animal Triste'' (1997) as Diane Clovier * '' Why Not Me?'' (1999) as Josepha * '' Le Temps du Loup'' (''Time of the Wolf'') (2003) as Béa * '' The Pleasure Is All Mine'' (2004) as Nicole * ''

Love Songs A love song is a song about love, falling in love, broken heart, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. Love songs can be found in a variety of different music genres. They can come in various formats, from sa ...

'' (2007) as Julie's Mother * '' Spiral (TV series)'' (2008) as Karine Fontane * '' The Ultimate Accessory'' (2013) * '' Demi-soeur'' (2013) * '' Love at First Fight'' (2014) * '' From the Land of the Moon'' (2016) * '' Guy'' (2018)

Filmmaker

Awards and nominations

References

External links

"Post Release: ''Post-Coitums Brigitte Rouan"
by Brandon Judell, indieWIRE website, retrieved April 13, 2006 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rouan, Brigitte 1946 births 20th-century French actresses 21st-century French actresses French film actresses French film directors French stage actresses French women film directors Living people Actors from Toulon Actresses from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur French women screenwriters French screenwriters Mass media people from Toulon