On Monday, September 2, the 81st Venice Film Festival honored Claude Lelouch for his entire body of work. At the Ateliers du Cinéma in Beaune, the school founded by the filmmaker, this is a source of great pride. Its Director General tells us more.
The director who became world famous in 1966 for “A Man and a Woman”, Claude Lelouch, is being honoured at the Venice Film Festival for his entire body of work. According to AFP, it is “half a century of a prolific career that has touched an audience hungry for romanticism” who is rewarded.
Claude Lelouch at the Ateliers du Cinéma, during a meeting with the filmmaker in 2022 (archives)
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© France Télévisions
Rémi Bergman, general director of the Ateliers du Cinéma in Beaune and friend of the director, says “It is high time that Claude received all the recognition he deserves, whether in France or around the world!”
The other news at the Mostra is the out-of-competition presentation of his new and 51st film “Eventually” to the public of Venice.
Claude Lelouch, aged 87, will officially present this film on November 13th for its national release. As Rémi Bergman enthusiastically points out, “The filming of this movie was carried out in collaboration with students from class No. 4 of the Ateliers!”
“Claude makes a huge effort on his shoots by integrating the apprentices from the Workshops, they are with us on the shoot, it’s important for us and for them.”
The Director of the film school emphasizes that Claude Lelouch will also receive a tribute from the Cinémathèque Française, “which is also something we hoped for. Claude having been a little outside of movements such as the New Wave, he was never ‘politically correct'”
Prolific Director Claude Lelouch Wins Honors at 81st Venice Film Festival
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© France Télévisions
Concerning the educational cycle at the Workshops, a new class of 13 apprentices (Claude Lelouch’s lucky number) will arrive on September 16.
Also at the Workshops, a preview screening of the film “Finalement”, on October 2.
“Given Claude’s busy schedule,” explains Rémi Bergman, “their official arrival will be celebrated with the filmmaker on November 25.”
The 5th class of apprentices will begin their training cycle, an opportunity for Rémi Bergman to emphasize the role of the school founded by Claude Lelouch and the participation of the apprentices of the Ateliers on his filming: “The principle works perfectly. A majority of our apprentices work in the cinema because with this practical exercise of working on a film by Claude, they build their first network elements, which is the basis of any entry into any environment. There is no mystery, the cinema is still a very small environment.”
And Rémi Bergman concludes, on the subject of the Mostra: “In any case, it’s a huge source of pride for us at the Ateliers, he’s in Venice but we’re here, with him!”