Cédric Anger

Cédric Anger (born 1975 in Caen) is a French film director and screenwriter. He has directed four feature films: The Killer, The Counsel (2010), Next Time I'll Aim for the Heart (2014), and Paris Pigalle (2018).

Career Anger was a critic for Cahiers du cinéma from 1993 to 2001, where he arrived at the age of 18 as a protégé of Jean Douchet. While in high school, Anger started a magazine which he sent to Douchet as well as Serge Daney and Alain Bergala. Douchet and Daney responded. On the occasion of Douchet introducing Robert Bresson's Pickpocket (1959) in a theater, Douchet advised Anger to write for Cahiers du cinéma. He traveled to Paris on the year of his graduation, where Douchet introduced him to Thierry Jousse. Anger began working for the magazine by the end of 1993, but left six months later to work as an assistant on André Téchiné's Thieves (1996) and on other films. He returned to Cahiers du cinéma at the beginning of 1995 when a new staff was taking charge of the magazine.

Anger got his start in film co-writing the screenplays for Xavier Beauvois's films To Matthieu (2000) and Le Petit Lieutenant (2005), the latter of which garnered Anger a nomination for Best Original Screenplay at the 31st César Awards. In 2002, he made his directorial debut with the short film Novela, which had a positive reception from critics as well as at festivals. That same year, he co-wrote the screenplay for Werner Schroeter's film Two (2002).

In 2007, he made his feature directorial debut, The Killer, a thriller starring Gilbert Melki, Mélanie Laurent and Grégoire Colin. In 2014, he directed his third film, Next Time I'll Aim for the Heart, inspired by the story of the killer gendarme Alain Lamare, and for which Anger received a nomination for Best Adaptation at the 40th César Awards.

In June 2024, Apple TV+ announced a six-part thriller series starring Benoît Magimel and Mélanie Laurent, created and directed by Anger. Titled The Hunt, the series was postponed in November 2025 pending an investigation into allegations that Anger plagiarized the series' story from Douglas Fairbairn's 1973 novel Shoot, which previously was adapted into the 1976 film Shoot. The series premiered on Apple TV in March 2026 with a label on each episode identifying it as having been adapted from Fairbairn's novel and also credits the 1976 film adaptation.

Filmography Year Title Director Screenwriter Notes 2000 To Matthieu 2002 Novela Short film Two 2005 Le Petit Lieutenant Collaboration 2007 The Killer 2010 The Counsel 2014 In the Name of My Daughter Next Time I'll Aim for the Heart 2017 Golden Years All That Divides Us 2018 Paris Pigalle 2020 How I Became a Super Hero Collaboration 2023 Soul Mates Wingwomen 2025 The Richest Woman in the World 2026 The Hunt Miniseries

Accolades Award Date of ceremony Category Film Result César Awards 25 February 2006 Best Original Screenplay Le Petit Lieutenant 20 February 2015 Best Adaptation Next Time I'll Aim for the Heart