Olivier Assayas

French author and director, born in Paris in 1955.

After art school and a master’s in humanities, Olivier Assayas directed three short films between 1979 and 1982 with Elli Medeiros and Jacno, inspired by the post-punk Parisian scene. During the same period and until 1985, he wrote for Cahiers du Cinéma and Rock et Folk. He was a scriptwriter for André Téchiné and several others before directing his first feature film in 1986, Disorder, which won the Critic’s Prize in Venice. A diverse filmography was to follow, including Irma Vep, Cold Water and Sentimental Destinies. In 2010, he directed a 5hr30 m fresco, Carlos, based on the life of the Venezuelan terrorist. In 2014, Sils Maria received the Prix Louis Delluc, and his latest film, Personal Shopper, obtained the Best Director Award in Cannes in 2016. An avid cinephile, he produced a portrait of Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-Hsien in 1997, which contributed to the latter’s rise to fame from as early as 1984, when he was making his first films.