Industry

UniFrance will honor filmmaker Cédric Klapisch with a French Cinema Award in January, recognizing a body of work that has long resonated with international audiences. Known for his tender, humanistic, and universal storytelling, Klapisch’s films have consistently travelled beyond France’s borders, earning both wide distribution and strong audience acclaim abroad.

Created in 2016 by UniFrance, the French Cinema Award (designed by Jean Lamore for Maison Daum) pays tribute to a leading French figure whose work has made a significant contribution to promoting French cinema worldwide.

After studying literature and cinema in Paris, Klapisch continued his education in the United States at New York University, where he earned a Master of Fine Arts and directed several short films. This formative American experience played a key role in shaping his career, opening him to a more international perspective and to a cinema rooted in everyday life, accessible to a broad audience.

Upon returning to France, he directed the short film "Ce qui me meut" in 1989, a tribute to the pioneers of cinema that earned several prestigious awards. The film also gave its name to his production company, which remains active today under producer Bruno Lévy. Klapisch made his feature debut with "Little Nothings", which received a César Award nomination in 1992.

He reached a wider audience in the 1990s with "Good Old Daze", co-written with longtime collaborator Santiago Amigorena, followed by "When the Cat’s Away" and "Family Resemblances", adapted from the play by Agnès Jaoui and Jean-Pierre Bacri. These films helped define his signature style, marked by a sharp observation of human relationships and social dynamics.

Klapisch’s international breakthrough came in the early 2000s. In 2002, "Pot Luck" became a major success across Europe, emerging as a defining film for a generation of students and the Erasmus spirit. Its international popularity continued with "Russian Dolls" and "Chinese Puzzle", and later with the 2023 series "Salade grecque", confirming the lasting global attachment to his characters — and even to their descendants.

Throughout his career, Klapisch has continued to explore universal themes through ensemble films such as "Paris", "Back to Burgundy", "Someone, Somewhere", and "Rise", all of which have been widely screened at international festivals. His work has firmly established him as one of the most recognized contemporary French directors outside France, thanks to themes that transcend borders, including youth, identity, time, work, art, and human connection.

According to figures compiled by UniFrance, Klapisch’s films have drawn 8.92 million admissions internationally to date.

His latest feature, "Colours of Time", starring a mix of established and emerging French talent, was a major box office success in France with over 900,000 admissions and has been sold to nearly 40 countries worldwide.