Olivier Assayas

Olivier Assayas (; born 25 January 1955) is a French film director, screenwriter and film critic. Assayas is known for his eclectic filmography, consisting of slow-burning period pieces, psychological thrillers, neo-noirs, and comedies. He has directed French, Spanish, and English-language films with international casts. The son of filmmaker Jacques Rémy, Assayas began his career as a critic for Cahiers du Cinéma. There he wrote about world cinema and its film auteurs, who later influenced his work. Assayas made several short films, and made his feature debut with Disorder in 1986.

He continued directing feature films, with Cold Water (1994) considered a breakthrough film in his career. It was his first film to screen at the Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section. His followup film, Irma Vep (1996), also screened at Cannes, while Sentimental Destinies (2000), Demonlover (2002), and Clean (2004) all officially competed for the Palme d'Or. In 2006, he contributed a short film to the anthology film Paris, je t'aime (2006).

Assayas gained acclaim for his dramas Summer Hours (2008), Clouds of Sils Maria (2014), and Personal Shopper (2016); the latter won him the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Director. He also directed the comedy Non-Fiction (2018) and the spy thriller Wasp Network (2019).

Life and career Assayas was born in Paris, France, the son of French director/screenwriter Raymond Assayas, alias Jacques Rémy, and Catherine de Károlyi, a fashion designer. His father was of Turkish-Jewish origin and had settled in Italy before France. His mother was Protestant and of Hungarian origin.

Assayas started his career in the industry by helping his father, ghost-writing episodes for television shows his father was working on when his health failed. In a 2010 interview, Assayas said his main political influences when growing up were Guy Debord and George Orwell. Of the 1968 May uprising to overthrow Charles de Gaulle, Assayas said: "I was defined by the politics of May '68, but for me May '68 was an anti-totalitarian uprising. People seemed to forget that at the occupied Odéon theater, you had crossed flags-black and red, and I was on the side of the black element." They separated in 2017.

In 2009 and 2010, Assayas signed two petitions in support of director Roman Polanski, who had been detained in Switzerland while traveling to a film festival in relation to his 1977 sexual abuse charges in the United States and had long been in exile from the United States. The first petition argued that the detention would undermine the tradition of film festivals as a place for works to be shown "freely and safely". It said that arresting filmmakers traveling to neutral countries could open the door "for actions of which no-one can know the effects".

Assayas directed and co-wrote the 2010 French television miniseries Carlos, about the life of the terrorist Ilich Ramírez Sánchez. Venezuelan actor Édgar Ramírez won the César Award for Most Promising Actor in 2011 for his performance as Carlos.

In April 2011, it was announced that Assayas would be a member of the jury for the main competition at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

Assayas's 2012 film Something in the Air was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 69th Venice International Film Festival. Assayas won the Osella for Best Screenplay at Venice. His 2014 film Clouds of Sils Maria was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or in the main competition section at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.

Sils Maria won the Louis Delluc Prize and garnered six César Award nominations, including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. Kristen Stewart won a César Award for Best Supporting Actress.

In 2016, Assayas won Best Director Award (Cannes Film Festival) for Personal Shopper, which also starred Stewart.

In June 2017, it was announced that Assayas would preside over the 2017 Locarno Film Festival.

Style and influences In an interview with Nick Pinkerton of Reverse Shot, Assayas talked about his influences:

In the 2012 Sight & Sound directors' poll, Assayas listed his ten favorite films as 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Gospel According to St. Matthew, Ludwig, A Man Escaped, Mirror, Napoléon, Playtime, The Rules of the Game, The Tree of Life, and Van Gogh.

Filmography Film Year TitleDirectorScreenwriter Distribution 1986 Disorder Forum Distribution 1989 Winter's Child Ciné Classic 1991 Paris Awakens Pan-Européenne 1993 A New Life Pyramide Distribution 1994 Cold Water Pan-Européenne 1996 Irma Vep Haut et Court 1998 Late August, Early September PolyGram Film Distribution 2000 Sentimental Destinies Pathé Distribution 2002 Demonlover SND Films 2004 Clean ARP Sélection 2006 Paris, je t'aime Segment: "Quartier des Enfants Rouges" La Fabrique de Films 2007 Boarding Gate ARP Sélection 2008 Summer Hours MK2 Films 2012 Something in the Air 2014 Clouds of Sils Maria Les Films du Losange 2016 Personal Shopper 2018 Non-Fiction Ad Vitam Distribution 2019 Wasp Network Netflix 2024 Suspended Time 2025 The Wizard of the Kremlin

As a writer only Passage secret (1985) Rendez-vous (1985) L'Unique (1986) Scene of the Crime (1986) Avril brisé (1987) Filha da Mãe (1990) Alice and Martin (1998) Based on a True Story (2017) - Co-written with Roman Polanski

Television Year Title Director Screenwriter Notes 1982 Étoiles et toiles Documentary 1994 Tous les garçons et les filles de leur âge... TV series 1997 Cinéma, de notre temps Episode: HHH - Un portrait de Hou Hsiao-hsien 2006 Noise Documentary 2007 To Each His Own Cinema Segment: "Recrudescence" 2007 Stockhausen / Preljocaj Dialogue Documentary 2008 Eldorado 2010 Carlos miniseries 2022 Irma Vep

Short films Year Title Director Screenwriter Notes 1978 Nuit féline Short film 1979 Copyright Short film 1980 Rectangle - Deux chansons de Jacno Short film 1980 Scopitone Short film 1982 Laissé inachevé à Tokyo Short film 1984 Winston Tong en studio Short documentary 1998 Man Yuk: A Portrait of Maggie Cheung Short documentary

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Project Result 1991 Prix Jean Vigo Paris Awakens 2000 Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or Sentimental Destinies 2002 Demonlover 2004 Clean 2008 Boston Society of Film Critics Best Foreign Language Film Summer Hours Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Foreign Language Film National Society of Film Critics Award Best Foreign Language Film New York Film Critics Circle Award Best Foreign Language Film Toronto Film Critics Association Best Foreign Language Film 2010 Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series Carlos César Award Best Director European Film Award Best Director Lumière Awards Best Film Best Director Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Director Globes de Cristal Award Best Television Film or Television Series 2012 Venice International Film Festival Golden Osella for Best Original ScreenplaySomething in the Air Fondazione Mimmo Rotella Award Golden Lion 2014 Louis Delluc Prize Clouds of Sils Maria Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or César Award Best Film Best Director Best Original Screenplay 2016 Cannes Film Festival Best Director Personal Shopper 2016Zurich Film FestivalA Tribute To... AwardLifetime Achievement