Marcel Camus

Marcel Camus (21 April 1912 – 13 January 1982) was a French film director. He is best known for Orfeu Negro (Black Orpheus), which won the Palme d'Or at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival and the 1960 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

Biography Camus was born in Chappes, in the Ardennes département of France. He studied art and intended to become an art teacher. However, World War II interrupted his plans. He spent part of the war in a German prisoner-of-war camp.

On his return from captivity, his uncle, famous novelist Roland Dorgelès, introduced him to several filmmakers. Camus assisted filmmakers in France, including Jacques Feyder, Luis Buñuel, and Jacques Becker.

New Wave In a famous photo of the French New Wave filmmakers, taken on the steps of the Palais des Festivals in Cannes in 1959, Marcel Camus appears alongside François Truffaut, François Reichenbach, Claude Chabrol, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, Jean-Luc Godard, Roger Vadim, Jean-Daniel Pollet, Jacques Rozier, Jacques Baratier, , Édouard Molinaro and Robert Hossein.

Orfeu Negro In 1958, at the suggestion of producer Sacha Gordine, Camus travelled to Brazil to adapt a play for the screen with the help of Jacques Viot. Orfeu da Conceição, by famous poet and diplomat Vinícius de Moraes, became Orfeu Negro, a transposition of the love story of Orpheus and Eurydice to the favelas of Rio de Janeiro during Carnival. The film won over the general public and a large proportion of the critics. It was a worldwide success, winning several awards including the Palme d'Or at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival

Os bandeirantes In 1960, Camus made a second Brazilian-themed film, Os Bandeirantes. This adventure film follows a French diamond miner in Brazil who, after being betrayed and left for dead by a friend, embarks on a quest for vengeance but finds himself falling in love with a Brazilian woman along the way.

Last films Camus had a great success with a World War II comedy, Atlantic Wall, starring the well-known French comedian Bourvil.

In 1976, Camus came back to the country that fascinated him and his wife. In a return to Brazilian themes, he directed Bahia (also known as Otalia da Bahia and Os pastores da noite), adapted from Brazilian writer Jorge Amado's Os pastores da noite (Shepherds of the Night). However, Bahia failed to recapture the success of Orfeu Negro.

Camus ended his career working primarily in television.

Camus died in Paris on January 13, 1982 following open heart surgery. He was buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery.

Filmography Year Original title English title Role Notes 1951 Champions Juniors Writer Short film; directed by Pierre Cauvin 1957 Mort en fraude Fugitive in Saigon Director 1959 Orfeu Negro Black Orpheus 1960 Os Bandeirantes The Pioneers Director, writer 1962 L'Oiseau de paradis Bird of Paradise Director, co-writer with Jacques Viot 1965 Le Chant du monde The Song of the World Director 1967 Vivre la Nuit Love in the Night 1970 Un Été Sauvage Le Mur de l'Atlantique Atlantic Wall 1973 Miniseries 1976 Otalia de Bahia Bahia Director, writer 1979 Co-director with Miniseries 1980 Mein Freund Winnetou My Friend Winnetou Director