Synopsis
From the streets of the cutthroat Belleville district of Paris to the dazzling limelight of New York’s glamorous concert halls, Edith Piaf’s life was a constant battle to sing and survive, to live and love. Raised in abject poverty, surrounded by hookers and pimps, Edith’s magical voice made her a star on both sides of the Atlantic. Her passionate romances and friendships with the greatest names of the period — Yves Montand, Jean Cocteau, Charles Aznavour, Marlene Deitrich, boxing world champion Marcel Cerdan — made her a household name as much as her memorable live performances and beautiful renditions of songs she made famous internationally, “La Vie en Rose”, “Milord”, “Hymn to Love”, “Non, je ne regrette rien” and many more. But in her audacious attempt to tame her tragic destiny, the “Little Sparrow” — as she was nicknamed — flew so high that she could not fail to burn her wings.
About the Production
JANUARY 22, 2004, 3.46 PM
Writer-director Olivier Dahan recalls: “I wanted to make a film about what drives an artist. I was in a bookstore flicking through a book about Piaf when the idea suddenly came to me. I immediately sent a text-message to Alain Goldman. Five minutes later, he gave me the green-light. He was right with me from the get-go. In fact, he got back to me so fast, I wondered for a moment what I’d got myself into!”
Alain Goldman says: “I was keen to work with Olivier again. We’re very close, professionally and personally, but I didn’t have anything lined up with him. Then, on January 22, 2004, at 3:46 pm, I received a text-message from him, which read, “A movie about music and love. A tragic, romantic blockbuster. French subject matter, international appeal. A major film about Piaf.” That sums up the movie perfectly. I kept that message, that initial impulse, as a reference. During the writing process, and even further down the line, if we strayed away from it, we could go back to that basic precept. I immediately sensed that we would make the movie, that it would probably open up perspectives and that Olivier’s text-message would remind us that we had believed.”
Olivier Dahan adds: “For me, Piaf is the perfect example of someone who places no barrier between her life and her art. The fusion between your existence and work is the very foundation of a true artist. Like everybody else in France, I knew some of her songs and something about her life, but no more than that. She was the ideal “in” for me to talk about what concerns me. The spark came when I saw a photo of her, as a young woman, walking in the street with her friend Momone. Few people have ever seen what she looked like so young. The prevailing image of her is from the 50s and 60s — the frail icon in the black dress. That photo gave me a glimpse of somebody completely different, who wasn’t yet Edith Piaf and who intrigued me. I pictured a kind of bridge between the prevailing image and that photo of an uncut diamond.”
MORE THAN A STORY, A FABULOUS ENCOUNTER
Alain Goldman says: “Filming a celebrated life is always a long process. Vatel and 1492 taught me that it takes roughly a year to research and digest all the necessary information, and find an interesting narrative form. At first, Olivier, who is very visual and intuitive, didn’t want to write the film. I had to convince him to do it. I needed his precision, his grasp of what is essential. I knew he’d have some very personal things to say in the film — things which he alone could express. It was his unique vision of Piaf’s life that interested me.”
Olivier Dahan explains: “I read everything ever written about her, published or not, from her lifetime to the present day. At the same time, I started to write, combining what stood out for me in my reading and what I wanted to express beyond the question of Piaf’s life. I think I have a good idea of what an artist feels — whether it’s Piaf or any other. Apprehension, anxiety, desire… I didn’t want to make a bio-pic, but I did want everything that was in the movie to be real. It’s just that, at certain points, especially concerning her childhood, which she rarely discussed, I extrapolated, using the few elements at my disposal.”
Alain Goldman remarks: “As the script took shape, I saw how Piaf’s life was even more dramatic than one of her songs – a tragedy with a little bit of everything! Abandoned and raised in a brothel; blind, briefly, in childhood; on the road with her father, before winding up in the Pigalle district of Paris at the prey of a pimp. And just when her career takes off, she is accused of murder and has to start back at the bottom. The greatest novelist couldn’t have dreamed up a better story. Piaf is one of those rare performers with universal appeal — men, women, young, not so young… And not because she appeals to baser instincts. She elevates us. Her voice fascinates people across social and cultural barriers. Everybody can identify with her. Piaf is an icon, a beacon and we need her more than ever today. Her unique stature goes far beyond our borders. That’s why the film has brought interest from so many countries, including English-speaking territories that often remain impervious to French movies.”
Olivier Dahan observes: “During my research, I accumulated lots of facts and, above all, the confirmation of my initial intuition. Piaf is undeniably the archetype of an artist. Generally, when artists begin to self-destruct, their art regresses. In that sense, Piaf is an exception. As her body waned, her art rose higher, became purer. That’s pretty rare. Even in decline, everything was there in her voice and her will to sing and perform as never before. She never gave up.”
He adds: “I don’t believe in the tormented artist. Like everybody else, Piaf clearly had happy times, even when you would least expect. I don’t agree that being unhappy is a prerequisite to being a great artist, or even an artist. On the contrary, you have to work at not being unhappy. In many biographies, the subject’s childhood is skimmed over. Yet, those early years condition the rest of our lives. The key often lies in childhood.”
The director explains: “Almost every scene we shot, including the dialogue, comes from the first draft. I reworked the structure of the script, but not the content. The opening scene is exactly as I began the script. In her writing and speech, Piaf expressed herself very well. I used her words for the dialogue. She went straight to the point without any verbiage. I read her correspondence, including the unpublished letters, and I was struck by the quality of her writing, her honesty and acute judgment.
“Despite the fact that she was hugely famous, for me, the subject of the film was very intimate because I put into the film exactly what I wanted to say. I never felt overwhelmed by her stature. I wanted to paint a portrait. Telling her life-story didn’t interest me per se. The events I show help to build up the portrait. I always tried to be truthful, respectful, connecting with her, without idealizing her. She never idealized herself or her art. When I was writing, I made a point of not meeting anybody who had known her personally. One day, Ginou Richer, who was Piaf’s best friend for twenty years, got in touch. I sent her the script, thinking that this was the real test. She called me to say that I wasn’t wrong about the character. I saw the whole process as a kind of dig, piecing something together without knowing whether the result would be exactly how it was. Even so, my approach wasn’t that of an archeologist but — I hope — that of an artist concerned not to misrepresent people and events. I wanted to express things about the character that were true and exact, in my own way, without betraying her or having to choose between the two approaches. All that I wanted to express freely, through her or with her, had to come out of her real life.”
BEYOND THE ICON, EMBODYING THE PERSON
Olivier Dahan says: “I approached casting the film intuitively. There are a lot of characters and, for each one, my choice went beyond professional considerations. It was gut feeling. Beyond their talent as actors, they all move me.”
He adds: “I didn’t know her personally, but I immediately thought of Marion Cotillard to play Piaf. I saw her in several movies that showed she had the dramatic talent that was vital for the role and that few actresses possess.
“Piaf is an icon. Her face, voice and silhouette are instantly recognizable. For audiences to accept what I was trying to say, there had to be a likeness between the actress and Piaf. Marion is prettier but there is a definite resemblance when you look at early photos of Piaf. I sent her the script and then we met. We didn’t have much time, so we didn’t really do any tests, just a half-day for make-up. However, I asked Marion to research the part in the same way I had, by reading books and watching old footage. I think that she approached the character intuitively, like me, and that was the best way to do it.”
Alain Goldman remarks: “Olivier immediately sensed that Marion bore a marked resemblance to Piaf in the years when it was impossible to hide your true self. Marion did an amazing job. Not only did she get into the mind of the character, she also got into her skin. By some strange miracle, she began to speak just like Piaf, down to the tiniest inflection. She captured her movements, including the stiffness caused by the arthritis in her hands. Marion went way beyond imitation. She brought an incredible power and humanity to her work. When I saw her as Piaf for the first time, even before Didier Lavergne’s magnificent make-up was complete, I just stopped in my tracks. I knew it would work.”
Olivier Dahan explains: “We were pressed for time, so we had to perfect the make-up during the shoot. We hadn’t gone far enough. I stopped shooting for a day to try out various ideas. Didier Lavergne did an incredible job. He said that such heavy make-up would be impossible to film in close-up. I kept urging him on until he got the right result. It was a joint struggle. I had told Marion that, however much make-up she was wearing, it was her I wanted to see. I didn’t want imitation. It was imperative that Marion should not be overwhelmed. I wanted her and Piaf to join together.”
The director continues: “It was the first time I had such a strong relationship with an actress. We shared the same perception of Piaf. We fed off each other. It’s Marion’s voice we hear singing on certain occasions but most of the time she mimed. Miming to Piaf is complex. It’s not just about cranking up the music and singing away. Marion practiced hard to get the breathing and rhythm right. She succeeded in embodying the character while capturing her soul. She makes her come alive.”
THOSE WHO MATTERED TO HER
Alain Goldman says: “The film isn’t a jaunt through Edith Piaf’s life. One of Olivier’s brainwaves was that he distinguished between those for whom Piaf mattered and those who mattered to her. It is her heart that leads us along. The film is an emotional journey — movie with something to say, not a docudrama.
Olivier Dahan recalls: “It wasn’t about running through her hits and, even less so, through the long list of her celebrity acquaintances and lovers. I focused on the people who helped her build herself, which is why we see her manager and his assistant, but not Montand, Azanavour and other greats of the age. I was interested in the private Piaf, the woman, not the public icon. Marlene Dietrich is the only exception to that rule. I also wrote the scene when she met Chaplin, who told her that she had achieved through her singing what he had achieved through movies. As a matter of fact, Marion plays a lot of scenes like a silent movie actress. Like Chaplin, Piaf created a character. She intentionally created a myth and had no qualms about making things up, especially to reporters who swallowed stories that are still accepted at face-value today.”
Clotilde Courau plays Anetta, Edith’s mother, who abandoned her child for a career as a singing artist.
Olivier Dahan says: “Clotilde has a small but crucial role. It’s a very difficult part. Piaf’s mother frequently asked her daughter for money and Edith, despite her bitterness, always helped her. She’s the only one in the family not to be buried with her.”
Jean-Paul Rouve plays Louis Gassion, a traveling showman. The director comments: “I have known Jean-Paul for a long time and I really wanted to work with him. I like the sensitivity that he physically brings to the part.”
Sylvie Testud plays Momone, Edith’s friend at the beginning of her career.
Olivier Dahan recalls: “I didn’t know Sylvie and she was a revelation to me. I had seen her in other movies but they give a false impression of her. She’s very funny. As an actress, she’s as good as she is simple and unpretentious. I like the perspective she has on everything.”
The director adds: “I didn’t know Gérard Depardieu personally. Alain suggested him to me. He plays Louis Leplée, who gave Edith her big break. From our very first meeting, we got on well. Gérard is similar to Piaf. He doesn’t distinguish between life and art. They intermingle.”
Alain Goldman adds: “I got to know Gérard on 1492. In my career as a producer, he was the first actor I signed up for a film. When we got back from the shoot in Costa Rica, he predicted that we’d work together for twenty years. Ever since, I ask him to participate on each of my projects, even if only for a few days. Making a film with Gérard is not just making a film, it’s writing a small page of movie history.”
Pascal Greggory plays Piaf’s manager, Louis Barrier.
Olivier Dahan says: “I had worked with Pascal before. He called me and I completely rewrote the part for him. On Ginou Richer’s advice, he was also the only character I altered. She told me one of the secrets to the character. Louis was madly in love with Piaf and they even dated in the early days. It’s not mentioned in any of her biographies. It shows the character in a new light and Pascal was right to insist.”
The director remarks: “The only part I auditioned was the one for Marcel Cerdan, the boxing world champion. I needed an actor who had a certain likeness and could box. I had known Jean-Pierre Martins for a long time but I hadn’t thought of him for the part. He used to play with a band called Les Silmarils, and I directed a video for them about twelve years ago. After a couple of rehearsals, he had made the part his own.”
Emmanuelle Seigner plays Titine, the prostitute who becomes very attached to Edith.
Olivier Dahan remembers: “I met Emmanuelle to discuss another project that never got made, so I grabbed the chance to work with her. Piaf really was raised in a brothel, but I made up the character of Titine from a factual basis. I thought that prostitutes, with their maternal side, must have liked having a little girl live with them.
Olivier Dahan recalls: “The film wasn’t easy to finance. Alain had to work very hard to secure funding. None of the potential backers seemed inspired by a film about Piaf. So, we had a very short prep time, maybe 3 — 4 months. More than ever, I had to rely on my intuition. There were no read-throughs or rehearsals, which I don’t like anyway. On set, just like when I’m writing, it’s the first draft — spontaneity — that I’m looking for. We had such a frantic schedule that I only saw some sets for the first time the day we were shooting there. The art department worked round the clock. Occasionally, the paint still wasn’t dry on the sets when we started shooting.”
Alain Goldman says: “Every decision was an artistic one. That was the line we had fixed for ourselves and I’m glad we stuck to it. My company carried all the risk. We were constantly at the mercy of running over budget or schedule, and, boy, did we! But the film was so enthralling that we owed it to ourselves to give it every chance to succeed. Some backers pulled out. I have no ill feelings, but it was tough sometimes to hold on. Luckily, TF1 came through for us. The end result is entirely down to Olivier’s talent, but I’m pleased we hung on in there to make it possible for him.
Olivier Dahan adds: “The shoot was spread over four and a half months in early 2006. We shot mostly in studio in Prague, with a few weeks in Paris and Los Angeles. The scenes in New York were shot in studio. Obviously, the film required lots of period sets. Some of them, such as a hallway in a hotel with a view of New York, were built for a single scene or even a single shot. There was a huge variety of sets of all sizes. The film goes from handcarts to limousines as Piaf went from early 20th century rural to mid-20th century urban. I didn’t want to reenact it, but to immerse the audience in it. The narrative had to be impressionist, not linear. I wanted to intertwine various periods, skipping from one period to another by associating ideas or images, like when memories flash through your mind. Olivier Raoux, the production designer, was superb. On top of that, the finesse and chiaroscura of Tetsuo Nagata’s lighting gave me stunning precision visually. It was the first time I had worked with him and I was mesmerized by his mastery of light.”
The director continues: “We began with the scenes in the brothel, with little Manon Chevallier playing Edith aged 5. For the scenes when she’s 10, Pauline Burlet took over. Every scene, from Edith’s childhood through Marion’s scenes, have the same intensity because she was the same person, though at different stages in her life. I applied the same approach to directing the two little girls as I did to directing Marion.
The director adds: “I spent a long time pondering how I should approach one of the big moments in Piaf’s life — which has been told over and over — when she learns that Marcel Cerdan, the love of her life, has been killed in a plane crash on his way to be with her. I imagined the scene as a sequence shot that would sum up her life in some way — happy that morning, broken that night, but on stage even so. The scene was shot on a specially designed set. We rehearsed it and blocked it for a long time.”
On the subject of the soundtrack, the director says: “I let my instinct and senses choose the songs. Some, of course, were automatic choices. I also wanted to hear Piaf sing in English, to lose the image of the French icon. As an artist, she belongs to no one in particular but to anybody who listens to her. Every artist’s ideal is to attain universality.”
Olivier Dahan adds: “Making this film took about three years. Three very eventful years. A lot of people gave of themselves not just to make a film that would get good reviews and do good box-office, but to make a film together that would worthy of the person whose story it tells and of our ambitions. I can still remember evenings spent with friends from the crew in the apartment I had in Prague. On the other hand, I have very few memories of events on set.”
Alain Goldman remarks: “If the groundwork has been done and everything goes to plan, a producer is not much use on set. I went by for the pleasure of watching all these talents at work — Olivier, Marion, the crew and Gérard Depardieu, whom I’d describe as a kind of older brother for me. We were all working in the same direction, inspired by Piaf and Olivier. Watching the movie now, there’s no sense of it being Edith Piaf’s illustrated life story. Strangely enough, you feel as if you knew her personally. It’s definitely the most moving film I have produced.”
Olivier Dahan concludes: “This is definitely the film that gets closest to what I am. For me, the story is always just a pretext, a means of communicating the feelings that I can only express in pictures and sound. I trained in art school, not film school. I try to have a painter’s approach, not in the visual sense, but in terms of the creative process. Over the years, I try to keep it simple, to get better by digging as deep as possible into my own self. Actually, while it tells and respects Piaf’s story, this film is very autobiographical. If my own life were made into a film, it would be no more truthful than this one. The evidence shows that Edith Piaf had faith. Personally, I’m still looking. I’m lacking that inner voice that would guide me. Unless, of course, it is intuition…”
by Marion Cotillard
In my early 20s, I really got into a number of singers of “la chanson réaliste” movement and I listened to a lot of Fréhel, Yvette Guilbert, Aristide Bruant and, of course, Edith Piaf. More than the others, her songs moved me because she sang of pure, true, absolute emotions with a voice that got you in the guts. At the time, I knew almost nothing about her, but I already knew by heart songs like Les amants d’un jour, L’hymne à l’amour and La foule. On several occasions since then, I’ve listened to her songs just before a scene in order to reach a vulnerable, emotional state. Piaf helped me as an actress long before I got the chance to play her.
Very early on, my agent told me that Olivier Dahan was writing a film about Piaf and had thought of me for the part, but experience has taught me not to pay too much attention to rumors like that until you have the script in front of you. In the next few months, from time to time I’d hear other rumors or push the whole thing out of my mind, and then one day, Olivier asked to meet me. We got on right away and felt very comfortable with each other, as if it was obvious that our paths would cross one day.
Before that meeting, I had glanced over a few photos of Piaf. I didn’t want to be presumptuous and invest too much energy in a part I hadn’t even been offered, but I couldn’t help setting out to find her. When I realized that Olivier really wanted to make the film with me, I couldn’t wait to get started. He gave me Jean Noli’s book about the last three years of Piaf’s life. My admiration for her only increased when I found out what kind of life she had had.
At the time, the script was longer, but already quite exceptional. Olivier had built an intimate, balanced, very human portrait of Piaf. His screenplay was full of powerful moments, life-changing encounters, breakups, desertions, hope and love. A regular movie only ever has one scene that reaches that pitch. This one is full of them. In fact, I think it’s probably her intensity, in the good times and the bad, which explains why she only lived to forty-seven. It was an extraordinary role but I soon realized how demanding it would be to play Piaf from her early days to her death. I had never been given a role like that before. Nobody had ever asked me to play a woman like that, a life like that. It was all very new to me. I was nervous but I never felt a glimmer of doubt. That’s probably down to not ever feeling any doubt in Olivier’s mind. He had faith in me and that’s all I needed. The other thing that stopped me totally panicking was that, although I imagined it would be difficult, but I never imagined just how difficult!
In October 2005, right after I finished shooting Ridley Scott’s A Good Year, I got down to work every day. I would open the script, read these amazing scenes and close it immediately, hardly daring to think what was awaiting me. A little voice told me to open the script back up and read some more because one day soon I would be in La Brasserie Julien playing that scene. Or in the apartment on Boulevard Lannes reading Non, je ne regrette rien for the first time, and I would have to play that scene. Or I had be lying on her death bed and I wouldn’t be able to back out! So I’d read some more of the script, with my heart pounding. Many times, I’ve been so apprehensive I feel like calling up a director to tell him to find another actress. But on this film, even when I was a nervous wreck, never, not once!
From the very beginning, I said that I would need to work with a coach. It wasn’t about physical issues or needing reassurance, but I wanted somebody at my side to set out to meet Piaf with me. I’d already worked with Pascal Luneau and he showed me something that was absolutely vital. I had so much admiration for Piaf that some aspects of her were incomprehensible to me, especially the tyrannical aspect. Pascal helped me realize that my admiration prevented me getting to the bottom of her. Losing that admiration didn’t mean not liking her anymore, but reaching another level. I stopped making myself so small in comparison to her and that’s when I got a handle on everything I didn’t like in her personality. Eventually, I came to really love her because I realized that the only thing she couldn’t bear was to be alone. She would go to any lengths not to be alone, even if it meant tyrannizing the people she loved.
We never worked on the physical aspects of the character — the way she walked, move, spoke — and then, the first day on set, I heard “Action!” and this voice I had never heard before came out of my mouth. In fact, my preparation had focused totally on observing and immersing myself in Edith Piaf. I watched so many tapes and listened to so many interviews that they ended up feeding a kind of inner process. From the start, I knew I didn’t want just to imitate her. My aim was to make enough room within me for Piaf to feel at home, without me disappearing completely. I had to welcome her in so that we could get on and create something together.
Part of being an actor is inviting characters in or summoning them up to share with you what you are. When you play Phedra, you kind of call on her. Of course, when you play someone as powerful and present as Piaf, it’s even more overwhelming. Some people may find all that a bit mystical, but all I can say is that after spending so long watching, listening to and loving her, I often had the impression that she was there. I was so deeply steeped in the way she moved and spoke, down to the tiniest inflections of her voice, that it was as if she existed within me. I arrived on set to meet up with her again! I’m not putting any mystical or esoteric spin on all this, it was just an encounter, an extraordinary encounter. Something of her recreated itself in me. It lasted only as long as we were shooting. At certain moments, you felt her presence. I often felt like we were working together. And then, you leave your ego to one side and just go for it. It’s frightening but absolutely thrilling. The first scene I had to play like that was set in the apartment on Boulevard Lannes, when Charles Dumont brings her Non, je ne regrette rien. I found myself speaking and moving as if Piaf were inside me. Even if we had to do it again and again, even though it was tough, that’s when I realized that I was going to get a great kick out of playing her.
The make-up tests where sheer hell and a lot of make-up artists fell short! Each time, we had to start over with somebody new. That phase caused me so much worry because the results never came up to our expectations and I knew that, however good my performance was, if the make-up didn’t work, it would be impossible for the audience to believe in it. Didier Lavergne did an amazing job, despite having less time than such a huge challenge usually requires. The make-up still took a certain time to get right and we had to shoot certain scenes again.
Playing Piaf when she was younger was less of a problem because I didn’t have such heavy make-up. On set, Olivier uses few words but they are all spot-on. He directs visually, by describing things. That may seem mechanical, but it’s totally intuitive for him and it worked perfectly for me. He offered us some magical moments, like the sequence shot when Piaf finds out that Cerdan is dead. I knew the dimensions of the set by heart — a long hallway that I had to prowl up and down. We had all rehearsed the scene. Everybody had to be in exactly the right place. There was a real buzz of excitement — exceptional, positive energy. We couldn’t afford to put a foot wrong because it would mean having to start all over again. When I woke up that morning, I thought of Roberto, the steadicam operator, and Chris, the focus puller, and I said to myself that we were going to waltz together. When the scene was in the can, we all had the most wonderful feeling.
The crew members were the first to see my transformation and, to be honest, I felt a kind of stage-fright because I admire them all. I was especially nervous of the scenes when I played Piaf in her later years. I’ll never forget my first scene with Pascal Greggory, Marie-Armelle Deguy, Elisabeth Commelin and Jean-Paul Muel. They were all wonderful. We were all headed toward exactly the same goal.
I like to sing, but the technical process of miming to a tape was the hardest thing for me, simply because I wanted it to be perfect. I worked with a singing teacher to learn how Piaf sang — her body and tongue movements, and breathing. It was so complicated it nearly drove me insane. If I had tapes of her singing a particular song, I analyzed her performance. I noticed that being in rhythm isn’t enough when you’re miming. Your breathing is vital. I would jot down the exact moment when she took a breath, then I’d put the music on and film myself singing to camera. I spent whole nights taking notes on what not to do! I wanted it to be Piaf.
There were some truly amazing moments on this film, like when we were shooting at the Olympia concert hall in Paris, when Piaf makes a wonderful return to the stage with Non, je ne regrette rien. Ginou Richer, who was very close to Piaf, was in the audience. It felt incredible being with her on set. It must have been strange for her. When I arrived on stage to sing that song, with Ginou there, it was absolutely magical.
I’ll never approach a part in the same way again. Piaf taught me so much. In terms of my work, I think I’ll enjoy it even more than before because now I know that characters truly exist in their own right. I’ll have a way to bring them even more intensely to life.
CREDITS
CAST
Edith Piaf MARION COTILLARD
Momone SYLVIE TESTUD
Louis Barrier PASCAL GREGGORY
Titine EMMANUELLE SEIGNER
Louis Gassion JEAN-PAUL ROUVE
Louis Leplée GÉRARD DEPARDIEU
Anetta CLOTILDE COURAU
Marcel Cerdan JEAN-PIERRE MARTINS
Louise CATHERINE ALLEGRET
Raymond Asso MARC BARBE
Marlene Dietrich CAROLINE SILHOL
Edith Piaf aged 5 MANON CHEVALLIER
Edith Piaf aged 10 PAULINE BURLET
CREW
Director – Writer OLIVIER DAHAN
Adaptation and dialogues OLIVIER DAHAN and ISABELLE SOBELMAN
Producer ALAIN GOLDMAN
Associate producer CATHERINE MORISSE-MONCEAU
Director of Photography TETSUO NAGATA A.F.C
Production Manager MARC VADE
1st Assistant Director MATHIAS HONORE
Production Designer OLIVIER RAOUX
Costume Designer MARIT ALLEN
Film Editor RICHARD MARIZY
Casting Director OLIVIER CARBONE
Sound Engineer LAURENT ZEILIG
Sound Mixer JEAN-PAUL HURIER
MARC DOISNE
Sound Editor PASCAL VILLARD
Postproduction Supervisor ABRAHAM GOLDBLAT
Composer CHRISTOPHER GUNNING
Music Consultant EDOUARD DUBOIS
Prague Production Facilities OKKO PRODUCTIONS s.r.o
MARC JENNY / OLDA MACH
London Production SONGBIRD PICTURES LIMITED
TIMOTHY BURRILL
1st Assistant director OLDRICH MACH, Jr
2nd Assistants director VOJTECH HLAVICKA
PASCALE JEANNIARD
UK Casting Director ALEX JOHNSON
Children’s coachs HARMEL SBRAIRE
JIRI KASAN
Script Supervisor VIRGINIE LE PIONNIER
Production manager MICHAL PRIKRYL
Coordinator ELIZABETH BOORN
Accountant MARC PARIS
Production Coordinator Czech Republic DENISA MURINOVA
Unit Manager Prague ZDENEK FLÍDR
ZDENEK FIALA
Unit Manager Paris THIERRY CRETAGNE
Asst. Unit Managers TOMMY KERNE
OLIVIER BILLARD
SACHA REDON
NICOLAS PLOUX
Camera/Steadicam Operator ROBERTO DE ANGELIS
Focus puller CHRISTIAN ABOMNES
Photographer BRUNO CALVO
2nd Unit Director of Photography GILBERT DIT BERTOT LECLUYSE
2nd Unit Camera/Steadicam Operator MATHIEU CAUDROY
Sound assistant JEAN-BAPTISTE FAURE
Asst. Set Designers STANISLAS REYDELLET
LAURE LEPELLEY
Prop handler ANTOINE GALINIE
Set Dressers CÉCILE VATELOT
STÉPHANE CRESSEND
PETRA KOBÉDOVA´
Location Managers FRANCK ROUCHES
EMMANUEL DELIS
STÉPHANE GUITARD
Fitter FRÉDÉRIC DEVILLERS
Key Painter JEAN-NOËL DELALANDE
Costume Supervisors DAVE CROSSMAN
LENKA KOUTKOVA
GIL NOIR
Wardrobe Mistress NATALIE HUMPHRIES
Casting extras BRIGITTE FOURCADE
Key Make-up Artists DIDIER LAVERGNE
LOULIA SHEPPARD
Make-up Artists GABRIELA POLÁKOVÁ
ELISA MARIA COSTA ELLIS
Key Hair Stylist JAN ARCHIBALD
Hair Stylists BARA KICHI
IVO STRANGMULLER
LINDA DVORÁKOVÁ
CATHY JABES
MICHEL PERROT
Key Grips GASTON GRANDIN
ROMAN HOLDEK
Gaffer PATRICK CONTESSE
Backup Film Editor YVES BELONIAK
Sound editors GAEL NICOLAS
NIKOLAS JAVELLE
Dialogue Editor CHARLES AUTRAND
Music Editor KATIA BOUTIN
Director 2nd unit SÉBASTIEN CAUDRON
Boom Operator DIDIER LESAGE
Foley Artist PHILIPPE PENOT
Boxing Consultant ALAIN FIGLARZ
Edith Piaf singer JIL AIGROT
Vocal Artistic Director MICK LANARO
Edith Piaf singer as a child CASSANDRE BERGER
Singer MAYA BARSONY
Recording Sound Engineer STÉPHANE REICHART
Pianist ALCEO PASSEO
Accordionist FRÉDÉRIC FORET
A French — British – Czech – coproduction LEGENDE – TF1 INTERNATIONAL
TF1 FILMS PRODUCTION
OKKO PRODUCTION s.r.o
SONGBIRD PICTURES LIMITED
With the participation of CANAL+ and TPS STAR
In association with SOFICA VALOR 7
SELECT FILMOGRAPHIES
MARION COTILLARD
Edith Piaf
2007 LA VIE EN ROSE by Olivier DAHAN
A GOOD YEAR by Ridley SCOTT
2006 DIKKENEK by Olivier VAN HOOFSTADT
FAIR PLAY by Lionel BAILLIU
TOI ET MOI by Julie LOPES-CURVAL
SAUF LE RESPECT QUE JE VOUS DOIS by Fabienne GODET
2005 MARY by Abel FERRARA
EDY by Stéphan GUERIN-TILLIE
LA BOÎTE NOIRE by Richard BERRY
MA VIE EN L’AIR by Rémi BEZANÇON
CAVALCADE by Steve SUISSA
2004 UN LONG DIMANCHE DE FIANÇAILLES by Jean-Pierre JEUNET
Best Supporting Actress, Cesar 2005
NARCO by Tristan AUROUET & Gilles LELLOUCHE
L’ÉCOLE by Lucille HADZIHALILOVIC
BIG FISH by Tim BURTON
2003 JEUX D’ENFANTS by Yann SAMUELL
TAXI III by Gérard KRAWCZYK
2002 UNE AFFAIRE PRIVÉE by Guillaume NICLOUX
2001 LES JOLIES CHOSES by Gilles PAQUET-BRENNER
Nomination for Most Promising Actress, Cesar 2002
LISA by Pierre GRIMBLAT
2000 TAXI II by Gérard KRAWCZYK
FURIA by Alexandre AJA
1999 DU BLEU JUSQU’EN AMÉRIQUE by Sarah LEVY
LA GUERRE DANS LE HAUT PAYS by Francis REUSSER
1998 TAXI by Gérard PIRÈS
Nomination for Most Promising Actress, Cesar 1999
1996 LA BELLE VERTE by Coline SERREAU
COMMENT JE ME SUIS DISPUTÉ (MA VIE SEXUELLE) by Arnaud DESPLECHIN
1994 L’HISTOIRE DU GARÇON QUI VOULAIT QU’ON L’EMBRASSE by Philippe HAREL
SYLVIE TESTUD
Momone
2007 LA VIE EN ROSE by Olivier DAHAN
2006 L’HÉRITAGE by Gela BABLUANI
2005 LA VIE EST À NOUS ! by Gérard KRAWCZYK
LES MOTS BLEUS by Alain CORNEAU
2004 VICTOIRE by Stéphanie MURAT
CAUSE TOUJOURS ! by Jeanne LABRUNE
TOUT POUR L’OSEILLE by Bertrand van EFFENTERRE
DEMAIN ON DÉMÉNAGE by Chantal AKERMAN
2003 DÉDALES by René MANZOR
VIVRE ME TUE by Jean-Pierre SINAPI
FILLES UNIQUES by Pierre JOLIVET
STUPEUR ET TREMBLEMENTS by Alain CORNEAU
2002 AIME TON PÈRE by Jacob BERGER
TANGOS VOLÉS by Eduardo de GREGORIO
LES FEMMES… OU LES ENFANTS D’ABORD… by Manuel POIRIER
UN MOMENT DE BONHEUR by Antoine SANTANA
THE CHATEAU by Jesse PERETZ
DEAD MAN’S MEMORIES by Markus HELTSCHL
2001 JE RENTRE À LA MAISON by Manoel de OLIVEIRA
JULIES GEIST by Bettina WILHELM
CE QUI COMPTE POUR MATHILDE by Stéphanie MURAT
2000 LA CHAMBRE OBSCURE by Marie-Christine QUESTERBERT
LES BLESSURES ASSASSINES by Jean-Pierre DENIS
LA CAPTIVE by Chantal AKERMAN
SADE by Benoît JACQUOT
LUCIE by Guillaume NICLOUX
JEDERMANNS FEST by Fritz LEHNER
1999 KARNAVAL by Thomas VINCENT
MARÉE HAUTE by Caroline CHAMPETIER
JEU D’ARTIFICE by Eric JAMEUX
ANNALUISE ET ANTON by Caroline LINK
1998 THE MISADVENTURES OF MARGARET by Brian SKEET
SENTIMENTAL EDUCATION by C. S. LEIGH
IN HEAVEN by Michael BINDLECHNER
1997 LES RAISONS DU CŒUR by Markus IMHOOF
1996 LOVE ETC. by Marion VERNOUX
BEYOND SILENCE by Caroline LINK
1995 LE PLUS BEL ÂGE by Didier HAUDEPIN
COUPLES ET AMANTS by John LVOFF
1994 ÉTERNELLES by Erick ZONCA
DIRECTOR
1998 JE VEUX DESCENDRE
PASCAL GREGGORY
Louis Barrier
2007 LA VIE EN ROSE by Olivier DAHAN
2006 PARDONNEZ-MOI by MAIWENN
LA TOURNEUSE DE PAGES by Denis DERCOURT
2005 GABRIELLE by Patrice CHÉREAU
2004 ARSÈNE LUPIN by Jean-Paul SALOME
2003 SON FRÈRE by Patrice CHÉREAU
RAJA by Jacques DOILLON
24 HEURES DE LA VIE D’UNE FEMME by Laurent BOUHNIK
2002 LA VIE PROMISE by Olivier DAHAN
NID DE GUÈPES by Florent Emilio SIRI
2001 UN ANGE by Miguel COURTOIS
2000 LA CONFUSION DES GENRES by Ilan DURAN COHEN
2000 LA FIDELITE by Andrzej ZULAWSKI
1999 JEANNE D’ARC by Luc BESSON
LE TEMPS RETROUVE by Raoul RUIZ
POURQUOI SE MARIER LE JOUR DE LA FIN DU MONDE ? by Harry CLEVEN
1998 ZONZON by Laurent BOUHNIK
CEUX QUI M’AIMENT PRENDRONT LE TRAIN by Patrice CHÉREAU
1997 LUCIE AUBRAC by Claude BERRI
1994 LA REINE MARGOT by Patrice CHÉREAU
COMME UN AIR DE RETOUR by Loredana BIANCONI
1993 LA SOIF DE L’OR by Gérard OURY
VILLA MAURESQUE by Patrick MIMOUNI
L’ARBRE, LE MAIRE ET LA MEDIATHÈQUE by Eric ROHMER
1988 LA COULEUR DU VENT by Pierre GRANIER-DEFERRE
LES PYRAMIDES BLEUES by Arielle DOMBASLE
1985 LA NUIT PORTE-JARRETELLES by Virginie THEVENET
GRENOUILLES by Adolfo ARRIETA
1983 PAULINE À LA PLAGE by Eric ROHMER
1982 LE CRIME D’AMOUR by Guy GILLES
LE BEAU MARIAGE by Eric ROHMER
CHASSE-CROISÉ by Arielle DOMBASLE
1979 LES SŒURS BRONTÉ by André TECHINE´
1978 FLAMMES by Adolfo ARRIETA
1976 DOCTEUR FRANÇOISE GAILLAND by Jean-Louis BERTUCELLI
EMMANUELLE SEIGNIER
Titine
FILM
2007 LA VIE EN ROSE by Olivier DAHAN
LE SCAPHANDRE ET LE PAPILLON by Julian SCHNABEL
FOUR LAST SONGS by Francesca JOSEPH
2005 BACKSTAGE by Emmanuelle BERCOT
2004 ILS SE MARIÈRENT ET EURENT BEAUCOUP D’ENFANTS by Yvan ATTAL
2003 LES IMMORTELS (Os Imortais) by Antonio-Pedro VASCONCELOS
CORPS À CORPS by François HANSS
2002 LAGUNA by Denis BERRY
STREGHE VERSO NORD by Giovanni VERONESI
1999 BUDDY BOY by Marc HANLON
LA NEUVIÈME PORTE by Roman POLANSKI
1998 PLACE VENDÔME by Nicole GARCIA
1997 NIRVANA by Gabriele SALVATORES
1997 RPM by Robert YOUNG
1996 LA DIVINE POURSUITE by Michel DEVILLE
1995 POURVU QUE ÇA DURE by Michel THIBAUD
1994 LE SOURIRE by Claude MILLER
1992 LUNES DE FIEL by Roman POLANSKI
1989 IL MALE OSCURO by Mario MONICELLI
1988 FRANTIC by Roman POLANSKI
1986 COURS PRIVE by Pierre GRANIER-DEFERRE
1985 DÉTECTIVE by Jean-Luc GODARD
JEAN-PAUL ROUVE
Louis Gassion
FILM
2007 LA VIE EN ROSE by Olivier DAHAN
L’ÎLE AUX TRÉSORS by Alain BERBERIAN
2006 NOS JOURS HEUREUX by Olivier NAKACHE & Eric TOLEDANO
BUNKER PARADISE by Stefan LIBERSKI
LE TEMPS DES PORTE-PLUMES by Daniel DUVAL
2005 MADAGASCAR by Eric DARNELL & Tom Mc GRATH
(Melman’s voice in French)
2005 JE PRÉFÈRE QU’ON RESTE AMIS by Olivier NAKACHE & Eric TOLEDANO
2005 BOUDU by Gérard JUGNOT
2004 UN PETIT JEU SANS CONSÉQUENCE by Bernard RAPP
UN LONG DIMANCHE DE FIANÇAILLES by Jean-Pierre JEUNET
PODIUM by Yann MOIX
RRRrrrr!!! by Alain CHABAT
2003 MOI CÉSAR, 10 ANS 1/2, 1 m 39 by Richard BERRY
2003 MAIS QUI A TUÉ PAMELA ROSE ? by Eric LARTIGAU
2002 MON IDÔLE by Guillaume CANET
JOJO LA FRITE by Nicolas CUCHE
2002 MONSIEUR BATIGNOLE by Gérard JUGNOT
Most Promising Actor, Cesar 2003
ASTÉRIX ET OBÉLIX: MISSION CLÉOPÂTRE by Alain CHABAT
2001 TANGUY by Etienne CHATILLEZ
2000 LE PETIT POUCET by Olivier DAHAN
1999 KARNAVAL by Thomas VINCENT
TRAFIC D’INFLUENCE by Dominique FARRUGIA
1998 SÉRIAL LOVER by James HUTH
CLOTILDE COURAU
Anetta
FILM
2007 LA VIE EN ROSE by Olivier DAHAN
2002 MON IDOLE by Guillaume CANET
LA MENTALE by Manuel BOURSINHAC
UN MONDE PRESQUE PAISIBLE by Michel DEVILLE
EMBRASSEZ QUI VOUS VOUDREZ by Michel BLANC
LE NOUVEAU JEAN-CLAUDE by Didier TRONCHET
2000 EXIT by Olivier MEGATON
PROMENONS-NOUS DANS LES BOIS by Lionel DELPLANQUE
LA PARENTHÈSE ENCHANTÉE by Michel SPINOSA
EN FACE by Mathias LEDOUX
1999 DETERRENCE by Rod LURRIE
MILK by William BROOKFIELD
1998 LE POULPE by Guillaume NICLOUX
HORS JEU by Karim DRIDI
1997 MARTHE by Jean-Loup HUBERT
FRED by Pierre JOLIVET
1996 LES GRANDS DUCS by Patrice LECONTE
1995 L’APPÂT by Bertrand TAVERNIER
ÉLISA by Jean BECKER
Suzanne Bianchetti Prize 1995
Nomination for Most Promising Actress and Best Supporting Actress, Cesar 1996
1995 TOM EST TOUT SEUL by Fabien ONTENIENTE
1993 POLSKI CRASH by Kaspar HEIDELBACH
THE PICKLE by Paul MAZURSKY
1993 MAP OF THE HUMAN HEART by Vincent WARD
1990 LE PETIT CRIMINEL by Jacques DOILLON
Best Actress, European Film Awards 1991
Nomination for Most Promising Actress, Cesar 1991
JEAN-PIERRE MARTINS
Marcel Cerdan
FILM
2007 LA VIE EN ROSE by Olivier DAHAN
2005 L’EMPIRE DES LOUPS by Chris NAHON
2003 LAISSE TES MAINS SUR MES HANCHES by Chantal LAUBY
MUSIC (Member of the band LES SILMARILS)
2003 “4 Life”
2000 “Vegas 76”
1997 “Original Karma”
1995 “Silmarils”
GÉRARD DEPARDIEU
Louis Leplée
FILM
2007 LA VIE EN ROSE by Olivier DAHAN
ASTÉRIX AUX JEUX OLYMPIQUES by Frédéric FORRESTIER
MICHOU D’AUBER by Thomas GILOU
2006 QUAND J’ÉTAIS CHANTEUR by Xavier GIANNOLI
2005 OLE by Florence QUENTIN
COMBIEN TU M’AIMES ? by Bertrand BLIER
BOUDU by Gérard JUGNOT
JE PRÉFÈRE QU’ON RESTE AMIS by Olivier NAKACHE & Eric TOLEDANO
2004 LES TEMPS QUI CHANGENT by André TECHINE
36, QUAI DES ORFÈVRES by Olivier MARCHAL
NATHALIE… by Anne FONTAINE
2003 TAIS-TOI by Francis VEBER
BON VOYAGE by Jean-Paul RAPPENEAU
2002 ASTÉRIX ET OBÉLIX: MISSION CLÉOPÂTRE by Alain CHABAT
AIME TON PÈRE by Jacob BERGER
2001 LE PLACARD by Francis VEBER
VIDOCQ by PITOF
CONCURRENCE DELOYALE (Concorrenza sleale) by Ettore SCOLA
102 DALMATIANS by Kevin LIMA
2000 LES ACTEURS by Bertrand BLIER
VATEL OU LE VERTIGE by Roland JOFFE
1999 UN PONT ENTRE DEUX RIVES by Gérard DEPARDIEU & Frédéric AUBURTIN
ASTÉRIX ET OBÉLIX CONTRE CÉSAR by Claude ZIDI
1998 LA PAROLA AMORE ESISTE by Mimmo CALOPRESTI
THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK by Randall WALLACE
1997 HAMLET by Kenneth BRANAGH
THE SECRET AGENT by Christopher HAMPTON
XXL by Ariel Zeitoun
1996 UNHOOK THE STARS by Nick CASSAVETES
BOGUS by Norman JEWISON
LE PLUS BEAU METIER DU MONDE by Gérard Lauzier
1995 LE GARÇU by Maurice PIALAT
LES ANGES GARDIENS by Jean-Marie POIRE
ÉLISA by Jean BECKER
1994 LA MACHINE by François DUPEYRON
MY FATHER, THE HERO by Steve MINER
UNA PURA FORMALITA by Giuseppe TORNATORE
LE COLONEL CHABERT by Yves ANGELO
1993 GERMINAL by Claude BERRI
HÉLAS POUR MOI by Jean-Luc GODARD
1992 1492: CONQUEST OF PARADISE by Ridley SCOTT
1991 MON PÈRE CE HÉROS by Gérard LAUZIER
TOUS LES MATINS DU MONDE by Alain CORNEAU
MERCI LA VIE by Bertrand BLIER
1991 GREEN CARD by Peter WEIR
1990 URANUS by Claude BERRI
CYRANO DE BERGERAC by Jean-Paul RAPPENEAU
1989 I WANT TO GO HOME by Alain RESNAIS
DEUX by Claude ZIDI
TROP BELLE POUR TOI by Bertrand BLIER
1988 DROLE D’ENDROIT POUR UNE RENCONTRE by François DUPEYRON
CAMILLE CLAUDEL by Bruno NUYTTEN
1987 SOUS LE SOLEIL DE SATAN by Maurice PIALAT
1986 LES FUGITIFS by Francis VEBER
TENUE DE SOIRÉE by Bertrand BLIER
JEAN DE FLORETTE by Claude BERRI
1985 POLICE by Maurice PIALAT
1984 RIVE DROITE, RIVE GAUCHE by Philippe LABRO
LE TARTUFFE by Gérard DEPARDIEU
FORT SAGANNE by Alain CORNEAU
1983 LES COMPÈRES by Francis VEBER
LA LUNE DANS LE CANIVEAU by Jean-Jacques BEINEIX
1982 LE GRAND FRÈRE by Francis GIROD
LE RETOUR DE MARTIN GUERRE by Daniel VIGNE
1982 DANTON by Andrzej WAJDA
1981 LA CHÈVRE by Francis VEBER
LA FEMME D’À CÔTE by François TRUFFAUT
LE CHOIX DES ARMES by Alain CORNEAU
INSPECTEUR LA BAVURE by Claude ZIDI
JE VOUS AIME by Claude BERRI
LE DERNIER MÉTRO by François TRUFFAUT
1980 MON ONCLE D’AMÉRIQUE by Alain RESNAIS
1980 LOULOU by Maurice PIALAT
1979 BUFFET FROID by Bertrand BLIER
1978 LE GRAND EMBOUTEILLAGE by Luigi COMENCINI
LES CHIENS by Alain JESSUA
LE SUCRE by Jacques ROUFFIO
PRÉPAREZ VOS MOUCHOIRS by Bertrand BLIER
1977 LE CAMION by Marguerite DURAS
DITES-LUI QUE JE L’AIME by Claude MILLER
1976 BAXTER, VERA BAXTER by Marguerite DURAS
RENÉ LA CANNE by Francis GIROD
BAROCCO by André TECHINE´
1900 by Bernardo BERTOLUCCI
LA DERNIÈRE FEMME by Marco FERRERI
1975 MAÎTRESSE by Barbet SCHROEDER
SEPT MORTS SUR ORDONNANCE by Jacques ROUFFIO
1974 VINCENT, FRANÇOIS, PAUL ET LES AUTRES by Claude SAUTET
STAVISKY by Alain RESNAIS
LES VALSEUSES by Bertrand BLIER
1973 LES GASPARDS by Pierre TCHERNIA
DEUX HOMMES DANS LA VILLE by José GIOVANNI
1973 L’AFFAIRE DOMINICI by Claude-Bernard AUBERT
1972 LE VIAGER by Pierre TCHERNIA
LA SCOUMOUNE by José GIOVANNI
AU RENDEZ-VOUS DE LA MORT JOYEUSE by Juan Luis BUNUEL
NATHALIE GRANGER by Marguerite DURAS
1971 UN PEU DE SOLEIL DANS L’EAU FROIDE by Jacques DERAY
LE TUEUR by Denys DE LA PATELLIÈRE
1970 LE CRI DU CORMORAN LE SOIR AU-DESSUS DES JONQUES by Michel AUDIARD
OLIVIER DAHAN
WRITER-DIRECTOR
FEATURE FILMS
2007 LA MOME / LA VIE EN ROSE (and sc.)
2004 CRIMSON RIVERS II : ANGELS OF THE APOCALYPSE
2002 GHOST RIVER (and sc.)
2001 TOM THUMB (and sc.)
1998 ALREADY DEAD (and sc.)
1994 BROTHERS : RED ROULETTE (and sc.)
DOCUMENTARIES
2000 MEHDI CHAREF BY OLIVIER DAHAN
About Mehdi Charef’s film MARIE-LINE
1999 HOMETOWN
Ten portraits of American musicians in their hometown
MUSIC VIDEOS
Since 1992, various music videos for the following artists: Raphaël, Johnny Hallyday, Renaud, Florent Pagny, Zucchero, Stéphane Eicher, The Cranberries, etc.
