Pascale Ferran (; born 17 April 1960) is a French film director and screenwriter. In 2007, her film ''
Lady Chatterley'' won five
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 ...
including
Best Film,
Best Cinematography and
Best Adaptation. Her 2014 film ''
Bird People'' was selected to compete in the
Un Certain Regard
(; '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 with unusua ...
section at the
2014 Cannes Film Festival.
Ferran also wrote the screenplay for ''
The Red Turtle'', an animated film by
Michael Dudok de Wit, that competed in the
Hawaii International Film Festival
Hawaii ( ; ) is an island state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only state not on the North American mainland, th ...
on 12 November 2016.
Early life
Pascale Ferran was born on April 17, 1960, in Paris, France.
Her father was sports journalist
Jacques Ferran. From a young age she was involved in cinema, operating the film club at her high school.
From 1980 to 1983 she attended IDHEC, which is now known as the prestigious
La Fémis.
Career
Directing and Screenwriting
Ferran helped to write the documentary ''Mange ta soupe'' by
Mathieu Amalric
Mathieu Amalric (; born 25 October 1965) is a French actor and filmmaker. He has won several César Awards and the Lumière Awards.
He is best known internationally for his roles in the James Bond film '' Quantum of Solace'', in which he pla ...
, which was released in 1997. Shortly after, in 1998, Ferran wrote, filmed, and directed ''Quatre jours à Ocoee''
', a documentary about a jazz music record.
Released in 2000, this documentary was filmed in Florida. Around this time Ferran also wrote ''Paratonerre'' which, due to funding, has never been released.
In 1999 Ferran directed a
film dubbing of
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...
's 1999 film ''
Eyes Wide Shut
''Eyes Wide Shut'' is a 1999 erotic mystery psychological drama film directed, produced, and co-written by Stanley Kubrick. It is based on the 1926 novella '' Dream Story'' () by Arthur Schnitzler, transferring the story's setting from earl ...
.''
Film Festivals
As a director and screenwriter, Ferran has also participated in a number of film festivals. She showed a new film at the 4th annual French Film Festival UK in 1996 and, in 1997 at the 5th annual festival, presented ''Coming to Terms with the Dead'' with Pierre Trividic. In June 2014 Ferran also participated in the 12th
Brussels Film Festival.
Cannes Film Festival
From 1990 to the present, Ferran has had a steady presence at the
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world.
Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
. Her involvement in works that were screened at Cannes include:
* 1990 directed ''The Kiss''
* 1992 credited as co-screenwriter for Arnaud Desplechin's ''The Sentinel''
* 1994 directed ''
Coming to Terms with the Dead'' in the Cinémas en France category of the Cannes Film Festival and won the Caméra d'Or Award.
* 2007 selected as the president and chair of the
Un Certain Regard
(; '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 with unusua ...
jury at the 60th annual Cannes Film Festival.
* 2014 directed and wrote the screenplay for ''
Bird People'', which was selected to compete in the
Un Certain Regard
(; '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 with unusua ...
section of the festival.
Awards
Ferran's critically acclaimed adaptation of ''Lady Chatterley's Lover'' won the Prix Louis-Delluc award and five César awards for Best Film, Adaptation, Photography, Actress, and Costumes.
Influences
Ferran is a sought-after lecturer. As early as 2007, as part of the Angers Workshops, she has taught master classes on directing, screenwriting, and filmmaking in general. On September 7, 2014, she taught a master class at Alliance Française in Toronto, Ontario titled "Gravity and Grace".
A segment of this film festival was actually dedicated as a "Tribute to Pascale Ferran". Also in 2014, as part of the Carte Noire IFI French Film Festival and under the category "French Fest", Ferran taught a master class titled "Literary Adaptation and Visual Effects". This collaborative effort by the French Embassy in Dublin and the Irish Film Institute also featured notable guests such as
Mathieu Amalric
Mathieu Amalric (; born 25 October 1965) is a French actor and filmmaker. He has won several César Awards and the Lumière Awards.
He is best known internationally for his roles in the James Bond film '' Quantum of Solace'', in which he pla ...
,
Assa Sylla, and Antoine de Baecque.
On March 19, 2016, at the 38th International Festival of Women's Films, Ferran and composer Béatrice Thiriet presented a master class together. The two women have collaborated previously on multiple projects, most recently ''Bird People'' in 2014 and ''Lady Chatterley'' in 2006.
Ferran is also, as of 2016, on the board of directors of SRF, or La Société des Réalisateurs de Films.
Personal life
In 2002 Ferran appeared, as herself, in Romain Goupil's documentary ''Une Pure Coïncidence''.
To date, Ferran is politically conscious and frequently defending and advocating for workers' rights in the film industry, as well as the rights of illegal immigrants.
She was in Calais, France in August 2016 when a group of migrants attacked vehicles and wrote to testify on behalf of the migrants.
Ferran co-founded
LaCinetek in 2015, alongside directors
Laurent Cantet
Laurent Cantet (; 11 April 1961 – 25 April 2024) was a French director, cinematographer and screenwriter. His film ''Entre les murs'' ('' The Class'') won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2008.
Biography
Laurent Cantet was born in ...
and
Cédric Klapisch
Cédric Klapisch ( ; born 4 September 1961) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer.
Life and career
Klapisch was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine. He is from a Jewish family; his maternal grandparents were
deported to ...
.
Filmography
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferran, Pascale
1960 births
Living people
French women film directors
Film directors from Paris
French women screenwriters
French screenwriters
Best Director Lumières Award winners
Directors of Caméra d'Or winners
Institut des hautes études cinématographiques alumni