French cinema consists of the film industry and its film productions, whether made within the nation of France or by French film production companies abroad. It is the oldest and largest precursor of national cinemas in Europe; with primary influence also on the creation of national cinemas in Asia.
A Man and a Woman is a 1966 French romantic drama film directed by Claude Lelouch and starring Anouk Aimée and Jean-Louis Trintignant. Written by Pierre Uytterhoeven and Lelouch, the film concerns a young widow and widower who meet by chance at their children's boarding school and whose budding relationship is complicated by the memories of their deceased spouses. The film is known for its lush photography, which features frequent segues among full color, black-and-white, and sepia-toned shots, and for its music score by Francis Lai.
Marie de Gournay was a French writer, who wrote a novel and a number of other literary compositions, including The Equality of Men and Women and The Ladies' Grievance. She insisted that women should be educated. Gournay was also an editor and commentator of Michel de Montaigne. After Montaigne's death, Gournay edited and published his Essays.
The history of French animation is one of the longest in the world, as France has created some of the earliest animated films dating back to the late 19th century, and invented many of the foundational technologies of early animation.
Lise Payette was a Canadian politician, journalist, writer, and businesswoman. She was a Parti Québécois (PQ) minister under the leadership of Premier René Lévesque and National Assembly of Quebec member for the riding of Dorion. Originally a journalist, Payette became a television host in the 1960s. She left politics in 1981 and returned to a successful career in television production and writing.
Kirikou and the Sorceress is a 1998 French-language animated adventure fantasy film written and directed by Michel Ocelot. Drawn from elements of West African folk tales, it depicts how a newborn boy, Kirikou, saves his village from the evil witch Karaba. The film was originally released on 9 December 1998. It is a co-production between companies in France, Belgium and Luxembourg and animated at Rija Films' studio in Latvia and Studio Exist in Hungary.
Michel Ocelot is a French writer, designer, storyboard artist and director of animated films and television programs and a former president of the International Animated Film Association. Though best known for his 1998 debut feature Kirikou and the Sorceress, his earlier films and television work had already won Césars and British Academy Film Awards among others and he was made a chevalier of the Légion d'honneur on 23 October 2009, presented to him by Agnès Varda who had been promoted to commandeur earlier the same year. In 2015 he got the Lifetime Achievement Award at the World Festival of Animated Film - Animafest Zagreb.
Mac Guff is a French visual effects company based in Los Angeles, United States, Brussels, Belgium and Paris, France, where it is headquartered. Mac Guff specializes in the creation of computer graphics for commercials, music videos and feature films. 270 graphic designers, VFX supervisors and producers, computer engineers, and administrators are usually working on over 100 million files. In mid-2011, the company was split in two, and the animation department was acquired by Illumination Entertainment. The new company was named Illumination Mac Guff and has capital worth 3.2 million euro.
"Earth Intruders" is a song written and recorded by Icelandic singer Björk. The song was released as the first single from her 2007 full-length studio album, Volta.
Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest is a 2006 animated fairytale fantasy film written and directed by Michel Ocelot and animated at the Paris animation and visual effects studio Mac Guff Ligne. It was released in theaters in North America as just Azur & Asmar.
Ciné si is a 1989 French silhouette animation television series conceived, written and directed by Michel Ocelot and realised at La Fabrique, consisting of short fairy tale and retrofuture stories performed by the same animated "actors". A critical success but commercial failure at the time, no further episodes were commissioned beyond the initial eight but following the success of Ocelot's Kirikou and the Sorceress six were edited into the 2000 compilation movie Princes et Princesses, in which form they finally saw wide exposure and acclaim both in France and internationally; a further episode was included in a home release of short works in 2008 but one remains unavailable for public consumption.
Kirikou and the Wild Beasts is a 2005 French animated feature film. It premiered at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival on 13 May and, unlike its predecessor, received only festival screenings in all English-speaking territories. It was released on English-subtitled DVD-Video in the United States by KimStim on 29 July 2008 as Kirikou and the Wild Beast.
Tales of the Night is a 1992 French silhouette animation television special written and directed by Michel Ocelot. It aired on Canal+ in France, ZDF in Germany and Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. It is a trilogy of three further fairy tales in much the same format as Ciné si.
Djeli Moussa Diawara, born 1962 in Kankan, Guinea, is a Kora player (Korafola), composer and singer.
Princes et Princesses is a 2000 compilation film by French animator Michel Ocelot.
Didier Brunner is a French film producer.
Les Armateurs is a French film production company focused on animation. It was founded by Didier Brunner in 1994 and is based in Paris. It produces feature films, short films and television series. Brunner served as the president of the company until 2014, when he was succeeded by Reginald de Guillebon. He retains a role as consultant
Dilili in Paris is a 2018 animated period adventure film written and directed by Michel Ocelot, with pre-production by Studio O and animation production by Mac Guff, about a Kanak girl investigating a mystery in Paris in the Belle Époque. It stars the voices of Prunelle Charles-Ambron, Enzo Ratsito, and Natalie Dessay as Emma Calvé in the original, French-language version.
Awa Sène Sarr is a Senegalese actress and comedian.
Arthouse animation is a combination of art film and animated film.
