
François Ozon is one of the most prolific contemporary French film directors. He is
considered one of the most important figures in the new “New Wave” in France, along with
Jean-Paul Siveyrac, Yves Comon and Philippe Ramos, whose cinematography is associated
with the so-called “cinema du corps/cinema of the body”.
François Ozon is perhaps the most successful one of this group of new French film directors
who debuted in the late 1990s, as he’s been making one feature film per year for more than
a decade now. However, his films have been subject to polarized criticism, due to their sharp satirical
tone and unconventional topics. Nevertheless, his work is a subject of academic attention and respect.
To begin with, he started his career with a large number of short films (over 30 films between 1985 and
1989), in which he filmed mainly members of his family. On these short films, he will emphasize on themes of complicated family relationships, sexual desires and violence. For instance, in his ironic short film “Family Portrait” 1988, Ozon tells us a story about how the main character (played by his brother) kills the rest of the family.
His first feature film “Sitcom” was presented at the Cannes Film Festival in 1998 in the
official selection of the International Critics’ Week. He won the Lumiere
Award for Best Director for the film “Eight Women” in 2002. For this fiilm, he had the chance to collaborate with some of the best French actresses of all times. Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Hupert, Fanny Ardant and Emmanuele Béart to name a few.
Later on, his film “Angel” was nominated for the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2007. In 2013, he won the Best Screenwriter award at the European Film Awards for his film “In the House. Finally, in 2019, he won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at Berlin Film Festival for his film “By the Grace of God”.
In addition to the these, here are some interesting facts about François Ozon:
✔His favorite director is Rainer Werner Fassbinder (the film “Peter von Kant” is an
interpretation of his work)
✔He worked as a model during his childhood
✔His father is a biology professor and his mother is a teacher. He has a brother and a sister.
And here is the trailer for his 2002’s film “8 Women”: