Cyril Collard (; 19 December 1957,
Paris − 5 March 1993, Paris) was a French author, filmmaker, composer, musician and actor. He is known for his unapologetic portrayals of
bisexuality
Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whic ...
and HIV in art, particularly his
autobiographical novel and film ''Les Nuits Fauves'' (''Savage Nights''). Openly bisexual, Collard was also one of the first French artists to speak openly about his
HIV-positive status.
Early life
Collard was born into a liberal, middle-class family in France. He attended
Lycée Hoche
The Lycée Hoche is a public secondary school located in Versailles, France. Formerly, it had been a nunnery founded by French queen Marie Leszczyńska. However, after the French Revolution, it became a school in 1803. In 1888, the school was nam ...
in
Versailles, and pursued an engineering degree at
Institut Industriel du Nord in Villeneuve d'Ascq, later known as
École centrale de Lille before deciding to drop out.
Books
* ''Condamné amour'' (1987)
* ''Les Nuits fauves'' (1989) (trans. ''Savage Nights'' by William Rodarmor, 1993)
* ''L'Ange sauvage'' (1993)
* ''L'Animal'' (1984)
''Les Nuits Fauves''
The semi-autobiographical ''
Savage Nights'' (''Les Nuits Fauves''), finished in 1992, was Collard's first and only feature film. It won four
Césars (best editing, best film, best first work, and most promising actress) in 1993. Unfortunately, Collard did not live to accept his award; he had died three days earlier.
Other directing credits
Early in his career, Collard assisted fellow director
Maurice Pialat and directed six music videos, as well as several television programs. Among the music videos he directed were those of French-Algerian band
Carte de Séjour, whose lead singer
Rachid Taha was one of the most famous rock-ethnic musicians in France.
* ''Les raboteurs'', short film after
painting by Caillebotte; choreography by
Angelin Preljocaj
Angelin Preljocaj (; born 19 January 1957) is a French dancer and choreographer of contemporary dance.
Early life
Angelin Preljocaj was born in 1957 in Sucy-en-Brie, France. He is of Albanian descent.
Career
His choreographic work is steeped ...
, music by
Thierry Lancino
Thierry Lancino (born 27 March 1954) is a French composer.
Thierry Lancino was born in Civray, Vienne. He was appointed Pensionnaire of the Académie de France à Rome (1988–90) at the Villa Médicis. During that time he wrote his often-perfo ...
(1988).
AIDS
Collard's own experiences with AIDS undoubtedly influenced his work. He died of AIDS-related illness aged 35.
Sources
Entry in glbtq encyclopediabiography at Yahoo! Movies
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Collard, Cyril
1957 births
1993 deaths
AIDS-related deaths in France
École centrale de Lille alumni
Bisexual male actors
Bisexual writers
20th-century French novelists
20th-century French male writers
LGBT composers
LGBT film directors
French LGBT musicians
French LGBT rights activists
Writers from Paris
Lycée Hoche alumni
French LGBT novelists
20th-century French composers
French male novelists
20th-century LGBT people