Mathieu Kassovitz (; born 3 August 1967) is a French actor, film director, film producer and screenwriter. He is the founder of MNP Entreprise, a film production company. He has won three

César Awards The César Award is the national film award of France. It is delivered in the ' ceremony and was first awarded in 1976. The nominations are selected by the members of twelve categories of filmmaking professionals and supported by the French Min ...

: Most Promising Actor for ''

See How They Fall ''See How They Fall'' (French: ''Regarde les hommes tomber'') is a 1994 film directed by Jacques Audiard. It stars Jean-Louis Trintignant, Jean Yanne and Matthieu Kassovitz. It won three César Awards for Best First Work, Best Editing and Most ...

'' (1994), and

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 ...

and Best Editing for ''

La Haine ''La Haine'' (, ; released in the United States as ''Hate'') is a 1995 French crime drama film written, co-edited, and directed by Mathieu Kassovitz. Starring Vincent Cassel, Hubert Koundé and Saïd Taghmaoui, the film chronicles a day and nig ...

'' (1995). He also received

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

and Best Writing nominations.

Early life

He is the son of

Peter Kassovitz Peter Kassovitz (born 7 January 1938) is a Hungarian-French film director and scriptwriter. Personal life He was born to Jewish parents in Budapest, Hungary. He fled the country at the time of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. He is the father ...

, a director and writer, and Chantal Rémy, a film editor. His mother is a French Catholic, while his father is a Hungarian Jew who fled during the

Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...

. Mathieu has described himself as "not Jewish but I was brought up in a world of Jewish humor".

Career

Filmmaker

As a filmmaker, Kassovitz has made several artistic and commercial successes. He wrote and directed ''

'' (''Hate'', 1996), a film dealing with themes around class, race, violence, and

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...

. France.html Presentation of the documentary A Film and Its Era: La Haine
/ref> The film won the

César Award for Best Film The winners and nominees of the César Award for Best Film ( French: ''César du meilleur film''). Winners and nominees 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s See also *Lumières Award for Best Film *Louis Delluc Prize for Best Film * ...

and netted Kassovitz the

prize at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival. He later directed ''

Les Rivières Pourpres ''The crimson Rivers'' (french: Les Rivières pourpres) is a 2000 French psychological thriller film starring Jean Reno and Vincent Cassel. The film, which was directed by Mathieu Kassovitz, is based on the novel '' Blood-red Rivers'' by Jean-Chri ...

'' (2000), a police detective thriller starring

Jean Reno Jean Reno () (born 30 July 1948), is a French actor. He has worked in American, French, English, Japanese, Spanish and Italian movie productions; Reno appeared in films such as ''Crimson Rivers'', ''Godzilla'', ''The Da Vinci Code'', '' Mission: ...

and

Vincent Cassel Vincent Cassel (; ; born 23 November 1966) is a French actor. He first achieved recognition for his performance as a troubled History of the Jews in France, French Jewish youth in Mathieu Kassovitz's 1995 film ''La Haine (Hate)'', for which he ...

, another massive commercial success in France, and ''

Gothika ''Gothika'' is a 2003 American supernatural psychological thriller film directed by Mathieu Kassovitz, written by Sebastian Gutierrez, and starring Halle Berry in the title role, Robert Downey Jr., Penélope Cruz, Charles S. Dutton, John Carroll ...

'' (2003), a fantasy thriller (considered by some to be a commercial failure, although it grossed over three times its roughly $40 million budget), with

Halle Berry Halle Maria Berry (; born Maria Halle Berry; August 14, 1966) is an American actress. She began her career as a model and entered several beauty contests, finishing as the first runner-up in the Miss USA pageant and coming in sixth in the Mis ...

and

Penélope Cruz Penélope Cruz Sánchez (; ; born 28 April 1974) is a Spanish actress. Known for her roles in films of several genres, particularly those in the Spanish language, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British A ...

. He used the money he made from ''Gothika'' to develop a far more personal project ''Babylon Babies'', the adaptation of one of

Maurice Dantec Maurice Georges Dantec (; 13 June 1959 – 25 June 2016) was a French-born Canadian science fiction writer and musician. Biography Dantec was born in Grenoble, France, the son of a journalist and a seamstress. He grew up primarily in Ivry-sur-Se ...

's books. Kassovitz established the film production firm MNP Entreprise in 2000 "to develop and produce feature films by Kassovitz and to represent him as a director and actor." MNP Entreprise is responsible for the co-productions of a number of films including ''Avida'' (2006) in which Kassovitz acts and ''

Babylon A.D. ''Babylon A.D.'' is a 2008 science fiction action film based on the 1999 novel ''Babylon Babies'' by Maurice Georges Dantec. The film was directed by Mathieu Kassovitz and stars Vin Diesel in the lead role, Mélanie Thierry, Michelle Yeoh, Lambe ...

'' which he directed. Kassovitz purchased the film rights for the novel ''Johnny Mad Dog'' by Congolese writer

Emmanuel Dongala Emmanuel Boundzéki Dongala (born 1941) is a Congolese chemist and novelist. He was born in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, in 1941. He was Richard B. Fisher Chair in Natural Sciences at Bard College at Simon's Rock until 2014. As a chemist, hi ...

. The film was also co-produced by MNP Entreprise, and directed by

Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire (born 31 December 1968), is a French filmmaker, producer and screenwriter. He is best known as the director of films '' Johnny Mad Dog'', '' A Prayer Before Dawn'' and ''La Mule''. Personal life Sauvaire was born on 31 De ...

. The premiere of the film was made at the

2008 Cannes Film Festival The 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival was held from 14 to 25 May 2008. The President of the Official Jury was American actor and director Sean Penn. Twenty two films from fourteen countries were selected to compete for the ''Palme d'Or''. The awards ...

where it was screened within the

Un Certain Regard (, meaning '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 w ...

section. In 2011, he starred in and directed ''Rebellion'', a war film based on a true story of French commandos who clashed with tribes in

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

, the

Melanesia Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from Indonesia's New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea. The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Va ...

n territory of France. His future project

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstellar ...

''MNP'' is named after

Mir ''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...

Space Station, whose writing in Cyrillic letters (Мир) look like the letters MNP, and also the production company.

Actor

Kassovitz is most famous outside France for his acting role as Nino Quincampoix in

Jean-Pierre Jeunet Jean-Pierre Jeunet (; born 3 September 1953) is a French film director, producer and screenwriter. His films combine fantasy, realism and science fiction to create idealized realities or to give relevance to mundane situations. Debuting as a di ...

's film''

Amélie ''Amélie'' (also known as ''Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain''; ; en, The Fabulous Destiny of Amélie Poulain, italic=yes) is a 2001 French-language romantic comedy film directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Written by Jeunet with Guillaume L ...

''. He also had small roles in ''

'' (which he also directed), ''

Birthday Girl ''Birthday Girl'' is a 2001 Erotic film, erotic comedy thriller film directed by Jez Butterworth. The plot focuses on English bank clerk John Buckingham, who orders a Russians, Russian mail-order bride, Nadia. It becomes clear upon her arrival ...

,'' and ''

The Fifth Element ''The Fifth Element'' is a 1997 English-language French science fiction action film conceived and directed by Luc Besson, as well as co-written by Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. It stars Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Chris Tucker, and Milla Jov ...

''. He played leading roles in '' A Self-Made Hero'' (1996) by

Jacques Audiard Jacques Audiard (; born 30 April 1952) is a French film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is the son of Michel Audiard, also a film director and screenwriter. He has won both the César Award for Best Film and the BAFTA Award for Best Fi ...

and in ''

Amen. ''Amen.'' is a 2002 historical war drama film directed and co-written by Costa-Gavras. Based on the play ''The Deputy'' by Rolf Hochhuth, the film examines the political and diplomatic relationship between the Vatican and Nazi Germany during Wo ...

'' (2003) by

Costa-Gavras Costa-Gavras (short for Konstantinos Gavras; el, Κωνσταντίνος Γαβράς; born 12 February 1933) is a Greek-French film director, screenwriter, and producer who lives and works in France. He is known for films with political and s ...

. Kassovitz is also recognizable for playing a conflicted Belgian explosives expert in

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

's 2005 film ''

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

'', alongside

Eric Bana Eric Banadinović, (born 9 August 1968), known professionally as Eric Bana (), is an Australian actor and comedian. He began his career in the sketch comedy series '' Full Frontal'' before gaining notice in the comedy drama '' The Castle'' (19 ...

and

Geoffrey Rush Geoffrey Roy Rush (born 6 July 1951) is an Australian actor. He is known for his Eccentricity (behavior), eccentric leading man roles on stage and screen. He is among 24 people who have won the Triple Crown of Acting, having received an Academy ...

. Kassovitz was a jury member for the

2001 Cannes Film Festival The 54th Cannes Film Festival started on 14 May and ran until 20 May 2001. Norwegian actress and director Liv Ullmann was the Jury President. The Palme d'Or went to the Italian film ''The Son's Room'' by Nanni Moretti. The festival opened with ...

. Since 2015, Kassovitz has been starring in the acclaimed espionage thriller series '' The Bureau'', broadcast in France on

Canal+ Canal+ (Canal Plus, , meaning 'Channel Plus'; sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal) is a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is 100% owned by the Groupe Canal+, which in turn is owned by Vivendi. The channel broadcasts several ki ...

and made available around the world on Amazon TV. So far five seasons have been screened.

Personal life

Kassovitz is married to French actress Julie Mauduech, whom he directed and acted alongside in his 1993 film ''Métisse'' (''Café au lait'', English title) and who made a brief appearance in ''

'' (during the scene in the Parisian art gallery). In 2009, Kassovitz won with a

Tesla Roadster (2008) The Tesla Roadster is a battery electric vehicle (BEV) sports car, based on the Lotus Elise chassis, that was produced by the electric car firm Tesla Motors (now Tesla, Inc.) in California from 2008 to 2012. The Roadster was the first highway ...

the ''Rallye Monte Carlo des Véhicules à Énergie Alternative'' (starting event of the FIA Alternative Energies Cup) in the category reserved to

electric vehicles An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes cha ...

.Classement final officiel 2009
ACM.mc; accessed 6 August 2015.
un-vehicule-electrique-parcourt-390-kilometres
', ''World Sports Events''; accessed 6 August 2015. Kassovitz is also known for his outspokenness, frequently making controversial comments on socio-political issues. Kassovitz was an ardent critic of former president

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...

, whom he described in his blog as having "ideas that not only reveal his inexperience of politics and human relations, but which also illuminate the purely demagogical and egocentric aspects of a puny, would-be Napoleon." In a 2012 interview, he labeled the outgoing Sarkozy administration as "horrible"."Hungarians are crazy"
Index.hu, 30 May 2012.

Filmography

Kassovitz at the preview of '' Rebellion'', 2011

As filmmaker

As actor

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kassovitz, Mathieu 1967 births Male actors from Paris French male film actors French film directors French-language film directors French people of Hungarian-Jewish descent FIA E-Rally Regularity Cup drivers Living people Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Director winners European Film Awards winners (people) César Award winners Most Promising Actor César Award winners 20th-century French male actors 21st-century French male actors Best Director Lumières Award winners French male television actors French film producers French male screenwriters French screenwriters French film editors French male non-fiction writers