François Ozon | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Ozon in 2025 | |
| Born | (1967-11-15)15 November 1967 (age 58) Paris, France |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Filmmaker |
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Website | www |
François Ozon (French:[fʁɑ̃swaozɔ̃]; born 15 November 1967) is a Frenchfilm director andscreenwriter.
Ozon is considered one of the most important modern French filmmakers.[1]His films are characterized by aesthetic beauty, sharp satirical humor and a free-wheeling view ofhuman sexuality. Recurring themes in his films are friendship, sexual identity, different perceptions of reality, transience and death.[2][3]
Ozon has achieved international acclaim for his films8 femmes (2002) andSwimming Pool (2003). He is considered one of the most important directors in the new "New Wave" inFrench cinema, along withJean-Paul Civeyrac,Philippe Ramos, andYves Caumon, as well as a group of French filmmakers associated with acinema du corps ("cinema of the body").[4]
Ozon was born inParis,France.[5] Having studied directing at the French film schoolLa Femis, Ozon made several short films such asA Summer Dress (Une robe d'été, 1996) andScènes de lit (1998). His motion picture directing debut wasSitcom (also 1998), which was well received by both critics and audiences.
After theFassbinder adaptationWater Drops on Burning Rocks (Gouttes d'eau sur pierres brûlantes, 2000) came the film which made his name outside France,8 Women (8 femmes, 2002), starringCatherine Deneuve,Fanny Ardant,Isabelle Huppert andEmmanuelle Béart. With its quirky mix of musical numbers and murder mystery and a production design harking back to 1950sHollywood melodramas such as those directed byDouglas Sirk, the film became a huge commercial success.
In 2003,Swimming Pool, starringCharlotte Rampling andLudivine Sagnier, was released. Ozon considered it a very personal film that gives insight into the difficult process of writing a novel or screenplay.
In 2004, he directed the film5x2. His next film,Time to Leave (Le temps qui reste) (which one critic said explored the question "how does a frivolous person deal with his own mortality?")[6] screened at film festivals worldwide in 2005, and in 2006 it was distributed in the U.S.
Ozon's first full English-language production,Angel, starringRomola Garai, was released in 2007. The film, based on a novel by British writerElizabeth Taylor, follows the story of a poor girl who climbs Edwardian England's social ladder by becoming a romance writer. The film was shot atTyntesfield House and Estate near Bristol, at other UK locations and in Belgium. While filmingAngel, Ozon developed a strong friendship with Garai and called her his "muse".
His filmThe Refuge had its world premiere at theToronto International Film Festival in September 2009.
Ozon was on the jury for the62nd Berlin International Film Festival, held in February 2012.[7]
His 2013 filmYoung & Beautiful (Jeune & Jolie) was nominated for thePalme d'Or at the2013 Cannes Film Festival.[8] Ozon was voted best screenwriter at the2013 European Film Awards for his 2012 filmIn the House.[9]
His 2014 filmThe New Girlfriend premiered at theToronto International Film Festival in September 2014.[10]
His filmPeter von Kant, a gender-flipped reinterpretation ofRainer Werner Fassbinder's 1972 filmThe Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, premiered at the2022 Berlin Film Festival.[11]
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Photo de famille | Yes | Yes | Also editor and cinematographer |
| 1988 | Les Doigts dans le ventre | Yes | Yes | Also editor, cinematographer and producer |
| 1990 | Mes parents un jour d'été | Yes | Yes | Also producer |
| 1991 | Une goutte de sang | Yes | ||
| 1991 | Deux plus un | Yes | ||
| 1992 | Thomas reconstitué | Yes | Yes | |
| 1993 | Victor | Yes | Yes | |
| 1994 | Une rose entre nous | Yes | Yes | Also actor |
| 1994 | Truth or Dare | Yes | Yes | Also as editor French Syndicate of Cinema Critics - Best Short Film |
| 1995 | Little Death | Yes | Yes | |
| 1996 | A Summer Dress | Yes | Yes | L.A. Outfest - Audience Award for Outstanding Narrative Short Film Nominated—César Award for Best Short Film |
| 1998 | Scènes de lit (Le trou noir ~ Monsieur propre ~ Madame ~ Tête-bêche ~ L'homme idéal ~ Love in the dark ~ Les puceaux) | Yes | Yes | Also editor Avignon Film Festival - Prix Panavision |
| 1998 | X2000 | Yes | Yes | Short film (6 minutes) Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival - Special Mention of the Jury |
| 2006 | A Curtain Raiser | Yes | Yes | |
| 2007 | Quand la peur dévore l'âme | Yes | Also as editor |
Documentary shorts
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Peau contre peau (les risques inutiles) | |
| 1991 | Le Trou madame | |
| 1995 | Jospin s'éclaire | Also editor |
| † | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |
