Laurent Achard (17 April 1964 – 25 March 2024) was a French film director and screenwriter.

Biography

Born in the

Yonne Yonne (, in Burgundian: ''Ghienne'') is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the river Yonne, which flows through it, in the country's north-central part. One of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté's eight con ...

department on 17 April 1964, Achard experienced a difficult childhood. He was "saved" when a school lent him a copy of '' Cahiers du Cinéma''. He moved to

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 ...

and failed the entrance exam for

La Fémis La Fémis (French: ''École nationale supérieure des Métiers de l'Image et du Son''; "National Institute for Professional Image and Sound", formerly known as the Institut des hautes études cinématographiques, IDHEC) is a French grande écol ...

, but met

Sólveig Anspach Sólveig Anspach (8 December 1960 – 7 August 2015) was an Icelandic-French film director and screenwriter. Born to a German-Romanian father Gerhard Anspach and an Icelandic mother Högna Sigurðardóttir, she spent most of her life living ...

, who introduced him to film producer . He directed his first film with Pierre Grise Productions, a short film titled ''Qu'en savent les morts ?''. Achard was influenced in the industry by

Maurice Pialat Maurice Pialat (; 31 August 1925 – 11 January 2003) was a French film director, screenwriter and actor known for the rigorous and unsentimental style of his films. His work is often described as " realist",

and

Jean Renoir Jean Renoir (; 15 September 1894 – 12 February 1979) was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. His '' La Grande Illusion'' (1937) and '' The Rules of the Game'' (1939) are often cited by critics as among the greate ...

. The films ''Dimanche ou les fantômes'' and ''Une odeur de géranium'' received a prize at the festival of

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, , ; or simply ; ) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population of 147,284 (2020). Its metropolitan area () had 504,157 inhabitants at the 2018 ...

. In 1999, he directed his first feature film '. In 2006, he received the

Prix Jean Vigo The Prix Jean Vigo () is an award in the Cinema of France , French cinema given annually since 1951 to a French film director, in homage to Jean Vigo. Since 1960, the award has been given to both a director of a feature film and to a director of a ...

for '' Le Dernier des fous''. His film '' Last Screening'' was selected in 2011 for the Festival Internacional de Cine de Locarno and the

Entrevues Belfort Film Festival The Entrevues Belfort Film Festival is an annual international film festival, founded in 1986 by Janine Bazin and held in Belfort, France. Through its First Films International Competition (from 1st to 3rd film), the festival is dedicated to support ...

. He also directed two documentaries: ''Un, parfois deux'' and ''Brisseau, 251 rue Marcadet''. Achard died on 25 March 2024, less than a month before he was to turn 60.

Filmography

Director

*''Qu'en savent les morts?'' (1991) *''Dimanche ou les fantômes'' (1994) *''Une odeur de géranium'' (1997) *''Plus qu'hier, moins que demain'' (1999) *''La Peur, petit chasseur'' (2004) *''Le Dernier des fous'' (2007) *''Last Screening'' (2011) *''Le Tableau'' (2012) *''Un, parfois deux'' (2016) *''Brisseau, 251 rue Marcadet'' (2018) *''Simple messieurs'' (2020) *''Avant Saturne'' (2022)

Screenwriter

*''Qu'en savent les morts ?'' (1991) *''Dimanche ou les fantômes'' (1994) *''Une odeur de géranium'' (1997) *''La Peur, petit chasseur'' (2004) *''Le Dernier des fous'' (2007) *''Last Screening'' (2011) *''Le Tableau'' (2012) *''Un, parfois deux'' (2016) *''Brisseau, 251 rue Marcadet'' (2018) *''Simple messieurs'' (2020) *''Avant Saturne'' (2022)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Achard, Laurent 1964 births 2024 deaths French film directors French screenwriters People from Yonne