Françoise Bonnot (17 August 1939 – 9 June 2018) was a French

film editor Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film stock, film which increasingly involves the use Digital cinema, of digital ...

with more than 40 feature film credits.

Biography

Bonnot was the daughter of Monique Bonnot, a film editor noted for several films directed by

Jean-Pierre Melville Jean-Pierre Grumbach (20 October 1917 – 2 August 1973), known professionally as Jean-Pierre Melville (), was a French filmmaker. Considered a spiritual godfather of the French New Wave, he was one of the first fully-independent French filmmake ...

. In her first film credit, Françoise Bonnot was the assistant to her mother on Melville's 1959 film, '' Two Men in Manhattan'' (1959). She and her mother co-edited the 1962 film, '' A Monkey in Winter'', that was directed by Henri Verneuil. At about this time Bonnot married Verneuil; she edited three more of his films in the 1960s. Bonnot edited Melville's 1969 film, '' Army of Shadows'', when her mother became unavailable. This film is about the French resistance fighters during the Second World War, and was a departure from Melville's more characteristic crime and detective films. Bonnot later remarked that Melville “... had known me since I was eight years old. It was like working with my big brother. He was a character––fascinating, charming, fun and tyrannical.” By 1968, Bonnot had commenced her notable collaboration with director

Costa-Gavras Konstantinos "Kostas" Gavras (; born 12 February 1933), known professionally as Costa-Gavras, is a Greek-French film director, screenwriter, and producer who lives and works in France. He is known for political films, such as the political thril ...

that extended over eight films and nearly 30 years. Their first film together was '' Z'' (1969); James Berardinelli has written recently that, "Z was the third feature film from Greek-born Costa-Gavras, but it is the movie that captured him to the world's attention, winning a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. It introduced the director's signature approach of combining overt political messages with edge-of-the-seat tension." After ''Z'', their most widely recognized film together is probably '' Missing'' (1982). Their last film together was '' Mad City'' (1997). Throughout her life, Bonnot edited the films directed by

Julie Taymor Julie Taymor (born December 15, 1952) is an American director and writer of theater, opera, and film. Her stage adaptation of ''The Lion King (musical), The Lion King'' debuted in 1997 and received eleven Tony Awards, Tony Award nominations, with ...

, who had been known primarily as a stage director. Their films include ''

Frida Frida, Frieda, or Freida may refer to: People and fictional characters *Frida (given name), any of several people or characters ** *Frieda (surname), any of several people or characters *Afroditi Frida (born 1964), Greek singer *Frida (singer) ...

'' (2002) and ''

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

'' (2010). Bonnot won the

Academy Award for Film Editing The Academy Award for Best Film Editing is one of the annual awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Nominations for this award are closely correlated with the Academy Award for Best Picture. For 33 consecutive year ...

for ''Z'' (1969), and the BAFTA Award for Best Editing for ''Missing'' (1982). She was nominated three times for the

César Award for Best Editing The César Award for Best Editing () is an award presented annually by the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma since 1976. Winners and nominees 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s See also *Academy Award for Best Editing *BAFT ...

(for '' The Simple Past'' (1977), '' Hannah K.'' (1983) and '' Place Vendôme'' (1998)). She had been elected to membership in the

American Cinema Editors Founded in 1950, American Cinema Editors (ACE) is an honorary society of film editing, film editors who are voted in based on the qualities of professional achievements, their education of others, and their dedication to editing. Members use the ...

. Bonnot and Henri Verneuil had two children. Their son, Patrick Malakian, is a film director; Bonnot edited his 1994 French-language film ''Pourquoi maman est dans mon lit?''. Bonnot died on 9 June 2018 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 ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

aged 78.

Filmography

* 1962 : '' Un singe en hiver'' (dir. Henri Verneuil) * 1963 : '' Mélodie en sous-sol'' (dir. Henri Verneuil) * 1967 : '' La Vingt-cinquième Heure'' (dir. Henri Verneuil) * 1968 : '' La Bataille de San Sebastian'' (dir. Henri Verneuil) * 1969 : '' Z'' (dir.

) * 1969 : ''

L'Armée des ombres ''Army of Shadows'' (; ) is a 1969 Franco-Italian World War II suspense-drama film written and directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, and starring Lino Ventura, Paul Meurisse, Jean-Pierre Cassel, and Simone Signoret. It is an adaptation of Joseph ...

'' (dir.

) * 1970 : '' L'Aveu'' (dir. Costa-Gavras) * 1971 : '' Four Flies on Grey Velvet'' (''4 mosche di velluto grigio'') (dir.

Dario Argento Dario Argento (; born 7 September 1940) is an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer. His influential work in the horror film, horror and giallo genres during the 1970s and 1980s has led him to being referred to as the "Master of the ...

) * 1972 : '' Beau Masque'' (dir. Bernard Paul) * 1972 : '' State of Siege'' (''État de siège'') (dir. Costa-Gavras) * 1973 : '' Massacre in Rome'' (''Rappresaglia'') (dir. George Cosmatos) * 1974 : '' Grandeur nature'' (dir.

Luis García Berlanga Luis García-Berlanga Martí Medal of Merit in Labour, MMT (12 June 1921 – 13 November 2010) was a Spanish film director and screenwriter. Acclaimed as a pioneer of modern Spanish cinema, his films are marked by social satire and acerbic criti ...

) * 1975 : '' Section spéciale'' (dir. Costa-Gavras) * 1975 : '' Le Futur aux trousses'' (dir. Dolorès Grassian) * 1976 : ''

The Tenant ''The Tenant'' () is a 1976 French psychological horror thriller film directed by Roman Polanski from a screenplay he co-wrote with Gérard Brach, based on the 1964 novel of the same name by Roland Topor. The film stars Polanski, Isabelle Adj ...

'' (''Le Locataire'') (dir.

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański (; born 18 August 1933) is a Polish and French filmmaker and actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Roman Polanski, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Britis ...

) * 1976 : '' La Victoire en chantant'' (ou ''Noirs et blancs en couleur'') (dir.

Jean-Jacques Annaud Jean-Jacques Annaud (; born 1 October 1943) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed ''Quest for Fire (film), Quest for Fire'' (1981), ''The Name of the Rose (film), The Name of the Rose'' (1986), ''The Bear (1988 film), ...

) * 1976 : '' The Cassandra Crossing'' (dir. George Cosmatos) (uncredited) * 1977 : '' The Simple Past'' (dir. Michel Drach) * 1978 : '' Le Dernier Amant romantique'' (dir.

Just Jaeckin Just Jaeckin (8 August 1940 – 6 September 2022) was a French film director, photographer and sculptor. He was known for directing several erotic films, starting with ''Emmanuelle'' in 1974 and continued making movies until he retired from fi ...

) * 1978 : '' Judith Therpauve'' (dir. Patrice Chéreau) * 1979 : '' Clair de femme'' (dir. Costa-Gavras) * 1980 : '' Chère inconnue'' (dir. Moshé Mizrahi) * 1981 : '' Une sale affaire'' (dir. Alain Bonnot) * 1982 : '' Missing'' (dir. Costa-Gavras) * 1983 : '' Hanna K.'' (dir. Costa-Gavras) * 1984 : '' Un amour de Swann'' de

Volker Schlöndorff Volker Schlöndorff (; born 31 March 1939) is a German film director, screenwriter and producer who has worked in Germany, France and the United States. He was a prominent member of the New German Cinema of the late 1960s and early 1970s. He ha ...

* 1984 : '' Top Secret!'' (dir.

Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker (abbreviated to ZAZ) was an American comedy filmmaking trio consisting of Jim Abrahams and brothers David and Jerry Zucker who specialised in writing slapstick comedy films during the 1980s. Members of the team have ...

) * 1984 : ' (dir. Alain Bonnot) * 1985 : '' Year of the Dragon'' (dir.

Michael Cimino Michael Antonio Cimino ( , ; February 3, 1939 – July 2, 2016) was an American filmmaker. He achieved fame as the director of ''The Deer Hunter'' (1978), which won five Academy Awards, including Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Picture and ...

) * 1987 : ''

The Sicilian ''The Sicilian'' is a novel by American author Mario Puzo. Published in 1984 by Random House, Random House Publishing Group (), it is based on the life of Sicilians, Sicilian Banditry, bandit Salvatore Giuliano. It is set in the same universe ...

'' (dir. Michael Cimino) * 1989 : '' Fat Man and Little Boy'' (dir.

Roland Joffé Roland Joffé (; born 17 November 1945) is an English film and television film director, director, Film producer, producer and screenwriter. He is known for directing the critically-acclaimed films ''The Killing Fields (film), The Killing Field ...

) * 1991 : '' The Plant'' (dir. Alexandre Gavras) (short film) * 1992 : '' 1492: Conquest of Paradise'' (dir.

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is an English film director and producer. He directs films in the Science fiction film, science fiction, Crime film, crime, and historical drama, historical epic genres, with an atmospheric and highly co ...

) * 1994 : '' Pourquoi maman est dans mon lit ?'' (dir. Patrick Malakian) * 1996 : '' L'Appartement'' (''The Apartment'') (dir. Gilles Mimouni) * 1997 : '' Mad City'' (dir. Costa-Gavras) * 1998 : '' Place Vendôme'' (dir.

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 ...

) * 1999 : ''

Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September AD 81) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, becoming the first Roman emperor ever to succeed h ...

'' (dir.

) * 2000 : '' Disappearing Acts '' (dir.

Gina Prince-Bythewood Gina Maria Prince-Bythewood (born June 10, 1969) is an American film director and screenwriter. She began her career as a writer for multiple television shows in the 1990s, including the anthology series ''CBS Schoolbreak Special'', for which she ...

) ( TV film) * 2002 : ''

'' (dir. Julie Taymor) * 2004 : '' Around the Bend'' (dir. Jordan Roberts) * 2007 : ''

Across the Universe "Across the Universe" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. It was written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song first appeared on the 1969 various artists' charity compilation album ''No One's Gonna Change Our W ...

'' (dir. Julie Taymor) * 2010 : ''

'' (dir. Julie Taymor) * 2010 : '' Un balcon sur la mer'' (dir. Nicole Garcia) * 2011 : '' El Gusto'' (dir. Safinez Bousbia)

Biography

Filmography

See also

References

Further reading