Félix Maritaud (born 12 December 1992) is a French actor notable for his roles in

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

queer cinema "New queer cinema" is a term first coined by the academic B. Ruby Rich in '' Sight & Sound'' magazine in 1992 to define and describe a movement in queer-themed independent filmmaking in the early 1990s. It is also referred to as the "queer new ...

Career

Maritaud began to garner recognition after starring in a string of French independent films, most notably ''

BPM (Beats per Minute) ''BPM (Beats per Minute)'', also known as ''120 BPM (Beats per Minute)'', () is a 2017 French drama film directed by Robin Campillo and starring Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Arnaud Valois and Adèle Haenel. The film is about the AIDS activism ...

''. The French LGBT magazine ''

Têtu Têtu (, French for "stubborn") is the main LGBTQIA magazine published in France. It was subtitled in French () until 2007, and reaffirmed itself as a men's magazine since then. As of December, 2012, its certified circulation was of 41,961 co ...

'' dubbed him "the new hero of French queer cinema". In 2018, Maritaud attracted further attention for his role in the independent film '' Sauvage'', in which he played a

homeless Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...

sex worker A sex worker is a person who provides sex work, either on a regular or occasional basis. The term is used in reference to those who work in all areas of the sex industry.Oxford English Dictionary, "sex worker" According to one view, sex work is ...

Peter Bradshaw Peter Nicholas Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire'' magazine. Early life and education Bradshaw was educat ...

of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' wrote that "Maritaud’s performance has power". Tara Brady of ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'' wrote, "Félix Maritaud is a heartbreaking revelation as a sex worker seeking intimacy in France". Dazed called his performance a "raw, delicate depiction". He won the Lumière Award for Best Male Revelation at the 24th Lumière Awards, for his performance in ''Sauvage''. In 2019, Maritaud was featured in

Gaspar Noé Gaspar Noé (; ; born 27 December 1963) is an Argentine filmmaker, who lives and worked primarily in France. He is one of the primary exponents of New French Extremity, with his most notable works including the feature films '' I Stand Alone'' ...

's '' Lux Æterna''. It was screened out of competition at the

2019 Cannes Film Festival The 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 14 to 25 May 2019. Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu served as jury president for the main competition. South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho won the , the festival's top prize, fo ...

. In 2020, Maritaud starred in a French short film titled '' Dustin'', which was an official selection of the

2020 Cannes Film Festival The 73rd annual Cannes Film Festival was scheduled to take place from 12 to 23 May 2020. On 13 January 2020, Spike Lee was named as the president of the Jury. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France, festival management announced on 14 ...

, but was not able to be screened due to the cancellation of the festival in light of the

COVID-19 pandemic in France The COVID-19 pandemic in France has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. The virus was confirmed to have reached France on 24 January 2020, when the first COVID-19 case in both Europe and France was identified in Bordeaux. T ...

. It was subsequently screened at the

2020 Toronto International Film Festival The 2020 Toronto International Film Festival, the 45th event in the Toronto International Film Festival series, was held from September 10 to 21, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto, the festival took place primarily on an online stream ...

,Jeremy Kay
"TIFF adds special events including new edition of Planet Africa, live talks series"
''

Screen Daily ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company which also owned '' Broadcast''. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involv ...

'', 25 August 2020. where it was named the winner of the IMDbPro Short Cuts Award for Best International Short Film.

Personal life

He is openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maritaud, Felix Living people 1992 births French male film actors French gay actors Place of birth missing (living people) Most Promising Actor Lumières Award winners 21st-century French male actors 21st-century French LGBTQ people