François Weyergans (; 2 August 1941 – 27 May 2019) was a Belgian writer and director. His father,

Franz Weyergans Désiré Marcel Weyergans, called Franz Weyergans (27 April 1912 – 8 February 1974) was a Belgian writer and translator of French language. Life Born in Ougrée, he is the father of writer François Weyergans. He was awarded the Grand prix ca ...

, was a Belgian and also a writer, while his mother was from

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

in France. François Weyergans was elected to the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

on 26 March 2009, taking the 32nd seat which became vacant with the death of Alain Robbe-Grillet in 2008.

Biography

He started film studies at the IDHEC (Hautes Études Cinématographiques), where he came to love the films of Robert Bresson and

Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as Fran� ...

, among others. He soon began to write for ''

Cahiers du cinéma ''Cahiers du Cinéma'' (, ) is a French film magazine co-founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca.Itzkoff, Dave (9 February 2009''Cahiers Du Cinéma Will Continue to Publish''The New York TimesMacnab, Ge ...

'' and directed his first film in 1961, on Maurice Béjart, which led to his expulsion from the school as students were banned from making professional films.

Novels

After having been through some psychoanalysis, he published a satirical account of his treatment in a novel called ''Le Pitre'' (1971), which attracted some critical notice and won the Roger Nimier Prize. His second novel in 1981 was ''

Macaire le Copte ''Macaire le Copte'' is a novel by François Weyergans. It was first published in Paris in 1981 by Gallimard. This book won the Prix Victor-Rossel in 1981 and the Prix des Deux Magots The Prix des Deux Magots is a major French literary prize. It ...

''. This won the

Prix Rossel The Prix Victor-Rossel is a literary award in Belgium that was first awarded in 1938. The award was created by three people associated with the newspaper ''Le Soir'': the owner Marie-Thérèse Rossel, the manager Lucien Fuss and the editor-in-chief, ...

in his native Belgium, as well as the

Prix des Deux Magots The Prix des Deux Magots is a major French literary prize. It is presented to new works, and is generally awarded to works that are more off-beat and less conventional than those that receive the more mainstream Prix Goncourt. The name derives from ...

in France. From then on, Weyergans devoted himself entirely to writing, spending whole nights working from 11 p.m. until noon. His subsequent works—mostly of an ironic autobiographical nature—also won literary prizes, including the "Prix Méridien des quatre jurys" in 1983 for ''Le radeau de la Méduse'' and the Prix Renaudot in 1992 for ''La démence du boxeur''. Most recently, his ''Trois jours chez ma mère'' awarded him the Prix Goncourt in 2005. In this, he satirises his own famous difficulties in delivering a promised manuscript in time. In the process he creates a "Russian doll" type structure where he (Weyergans) writes as a writer, ''Weyergraf'', who finds all sorts of distractions or reasons to avoid writing a book called ''Trois jours chez ma mère''. He does this largely by inventing an author called ''Graffenberg'', who in turn invents another author, ''Weyerstein'', who sketches out a possible structure—but he keeps getting waylaid by humorous meditations on his own life, love (or just encounters), family, films and multiple enthusiasms and interests.

Films

* 1962: ''

Béjart Béjart is the name of several French actors of the 17th century. Family The four actors listed here were children, and grandchildren, of Marie Hérve and Joseph Béjart (died 1643), the holder of a small government post. There were 10 children ...

'' * 1963: '' Hieronymus Bosch'' * 1965: '' Robert Bresson: Ni vu, ni connu'' (des portraits ''Cinéastes de notre temps''), 65 minutes * 1967: ''

Baudelaire is gestorven in de zomer Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticism inherited fr ...

'' * 1967: ''Aline'' * 1972: ''Un film sur quelqu'un'' * 1977: ''Maladie mortelle'' * 1977: ''Je t'aime, tu danses'' * 1978: ''Couleur Chair'' ('' Flesh Color'')

References

External links

Biography, complete bibliography and citations of François Weyergans, in FrenchInterview with François Weyergans in French (Dec. 2005)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weyergans, Francois 1941 births 2019 deaths People from Etterbeek Belgian writers in French Prix Goncourt winners Belgian film directors Prix Renaudot winners Prix des Deux Magots winners Roger Nimier Prize winners Members of the Académie Française Analysands of Jacques Lacan Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Belgian people of French descent Belgian male novelists 20th-century Belgian male writers 20th-century Belgian novelists 21st-century Belgian male writers 21st-century Belgian novelists

Biography

Novels

Films

References

Further reading

External links