You are a fabulous actress, and, with the exception of Jeanne Moreau, I have never felt such an overwhelming desire to capture a face on film—right away, without delay. (…). A magnificent career awaits you because you will have the choice, the initiative, and even if you were to star in a bad film, I believe you could never be bad. Your face alone tells a story; your glances create dramatic situations. You could even get away with starring in a film with no plot—it would be a documentary about you, and it would be worth every bit of fiction.
François Truffaut
Ciné Lumière puts the spotlight on French actor Isabelle Adjani, one of the most celebrated and enigmatic figures of French cinema in the past 5 decades.
Occupying a singular place in French cinema, and with no less than 5 César awards for her dazzling performances, Isabelle Adjani is an actor whose perfectionism, versatility and rare screen appearances have shaped an almost mythic reputation.
Her career began at a very young age, as she started acting at the age of 12 and got her first feature film credit at the age of 14 in Le Petit Bougnat by Bernard Toublanc-Michel, but her first breakthrough was when she entered the prestigious Comédie-Française, where she was praised for her role in Molière’s L’École des femmes.
In 1975, François Truffaut cast her for the lead role in his film The Story of Adèle H (screening on 14, 16 & 18 June), for which she received nominations to the 1976 Académie des César and Academy Awards at only 19 years of age.
In 1981, Isabelle Adjani won the Best Actress Award in Cannes for her role in Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession (30 June & 7 July) for which she got her first César Award in 1982.
Isabelle Adjani’s performance in Bruno Nuytten’s Camille Claudel (7, 9 & 10 June) earned her another nomination to the Academy Awards and won her the César for Best Actress and the Silver Bear in the Berlinale in 1989.
She was also acclaimed for the role of Marguerite de France in Patrice Chéreau’s adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ novel Queen Margot (21, 23 & 25 June). The films received 5 César awards, including Best Actress for Isabelle Adjani.
She was also hailed for her roles in Luc Besson’s Subway (5, 7 & 9 July), nominated at both the BAFTA and the César awards, and made a strong impression in Nosferatu the Vampyre by Werner Herzog (28, 30 June & 2 July), Claude Miller’s Deadly Circuit (12, 14 & 16 July) and more recently in The World is Yours by Romain Gavras (15, 23 & 25 July).
Adjani’s venture into TV series with The King’s Favourite (4 & 19 July) will also be featured as well as a contemporary take on Adjani’s fandom with The Adjani Notebooks (29 June, 5 & 21 July) by Cyril Brody.
Venue
Ciné Lumière at the Institut français, 17 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2DT
Press contact
Natacha Antolini: natacha.antolini@institut-francais.org.uk / 020 7871 3520
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