Konstantinos "Kostas" Gavras, known professionally as Costa-Gavras, is a Greek-French film director, screenwriter, and producer who lives and works in France. He is known for political films, such as the political thriller Z (1969), which won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and Missing (1982), for which he won the Palme d'Or and an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Most of his films have been made in French, but six of them were made in English.
Taxi is a 1998 French action comedy film starring Samy Naceri, Frédéric Diefenthal and Marion Cotillard, written by Luc Besson and directed by Gérard Pirès. It is the first installment in the Taxi film series. It has four sequels, Taxi 2, Taxi 3, Taxi 4 and Taxi 5 and one English-language remake, Taxi (2004). It also provided the premise for the 2014 American television show, Taxi Brooklyn.
La Haine is a 1995 French social thriller film written, co-edited, and directed by Mathieu Kassovitz. Starring Vincent Cassel, Hubert Koundé and Saïd Taghmaoui, the film chronicles a day and night in the lives of three friends from a poor immigrant neighbourhood in the suburbs of Paris. The title derives from a line spoken by one of them, Hubert: "La haine attire la haine!", "hatred breeds hatred". Kassovitz was awarded the Best Director prize at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival.
Mathieu Kassovitz is a French actor, film director, film producer and screenwriter. He has won three César Awards: Most Promising Actor for See How They Fall (1994), and Best Film and Best Editing for La Haine (1995). He also received Best Director and Best Writing nominations.
Birthday Girl is a 2001 erotic comedy thriller film directed by Jez Butterworth. The plot focuses on English bank clerk John Buckingham, who orders a Russian mail-order bride, Nadia. It becomes clear upon her arrival that Nadia cannot speak English, and early into her stay, two mysterious men come to the house claiming to be her cousin and cousin's friend. The film features Nicole Kidman, Ben Chaplin, Mathieu Kassovitz, and Vincent Cassel. English and Russian are spoken interchangeably in the film.
Saïd Taghmaoui is a French actor. One of his major screen roles was that of Saïd in the 1995 French film La Haine, directed by Mathieu Kassovitz. Taghmaoui has also appeared in a number of English-language films, with roles such as Captain Said in Three Kings (1999), Breaker in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009), Sameer in Wonder Woman (2017), and The Elder in John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019).
Michele Placido is an Italian actor, director and screenwriter. He began his career on stage, and first gained mainstream attention through a series of roles in films directed by the likes of Mario Monicelli and Marco Bellocchio, winning the Berlinale's Silver Bear for Best Actor for his performance in the 1979 film Ernesto. He is known internationally for portraying police inspector Corrado Cattani on the crime drama television series La piovra (1984–2001). Placido's directorial debut, Pummarò, was screened Un Certain Regard at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival. Three of his films have competed for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. He is a five-time Nastro d'Argento and four-time David di Donatello winner. In 2021, Placido was appointed President of the Teatro Comunale in Ferrara.
The Eighth Day is a 1996 Franco-Belgian comedy-drama film that tells the story of the friendship that develops between two men who meet by chance. Harry, a divorced businessman who feels alienated from his children, meets Georges, an institutionalised man with Down syndrome, after Georges has escaped from his mental institution and is nearly run over by Harry. The film was selected as the Belgian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 69th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.
A lookout or look-out is a person on a ship in charge of the observation of the sea for hazards, other ships, land, etc..
36 Quai des Orfèvres is a 2004 French film directed by Olivier Marchal and starring Daniel Auteuil and Gérard Depardieu. The title derives from the original address of the Judicial Police headquarters, part of the larger Palais de Justice of Paris on the Île de la Cité. The film takes place in Paris, where two cops are competing for the vacant seat of chief of the Paris Criminal police while involved in a search for a gang of violent thieves. The film is directed by Olivier Marchal, a former police officer who spent 12 years in the French police. The story is loosely inspired from real events which occurred during the 1980s in France. The film was nominated for eight César Awards. The movie was remade in South Korea in 2019 as The Beast.
The 19th César Awards ceremony, presented by the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma, honoured the best French films of 1993 and took place on 26 February 1994 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris. The ceremony was chaired by Gérard Depardieu and hosted by Fabrice Luchini and Clémentine Célarié. Smoking / No Smoking won the award for Best Film.
The 20th César Awards ceremony, presented by the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma, honoured the best French films of 1994 and took place on 25 February 1995 at the Palais des Congrès in Paris. The ceremony was chaired by Alain Delon and hosted by Jean-Claude Brialy and Pierre Tchernia. Wild Reeds won the award for Best Film.
Hubert Koundé is a French actor and film director. He is best known for his role as Hubert in the film La Haine written and directed by Mathieu Kassovitz.
Angel of Evil is a 2010 Italian crime film directed by Michele Placido. It is based on the biography Il fiore del male. Bandito a Milano of bank robber Renato Vallanzasca, by Italian journalist Carlo Bonini.
See How They Fall is a 1994 film directed by Jacques Audiard. It stars Jean-Louis Trintignant, Jean Yanne and Mathieu Kassovitz. It won three César Awards for Best First Work, Best Editing and Most Promising Actor in 1995.
Géraldine Martineau is a French actress, originally from Nantes, France. She started acting when she was 8 years old. At the age of 17, she was accepted into the Cours Florent and started a course in the Classe Libre, before she entered the Conservatoire National Supérieur d’Art Dramatique two years later. She has acted on stage, on television and in movies.
The Forbidden Room is a 1977 thriller film directed by Dino Risi. It is based on the novel Un'anima persa by Giovanni Arpino. The film was co-production between Italy and France by Dean Film and Les Productions Fox Europa.
The Big Dream is a 2009 Italian drama film directed by Michele Placido. It entered the main competition at the 66th Venice International Film Festival, in which Jasmine Trinca won the Marcello Mastroianni Award.
