Olivier Assayas
| Olivier Assayas | |
|---|---|
Assayas in 2010
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| Born |
25 January 1955 Paris, France |
| Occupation | Film director, screenwriter, film critic |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Maggie Cheung (1998–2001) Mia Hansen-Løve (2009–present) |
| Children | 1 |
Olivier Assayas (born 25 January 1955) is a French film director, screenwriter and film critic.
Assayas was born in Paris, France, the son of French director/screenwriter Raymond Assayas, alias Jacques Rémy (1911–1981). His father was of Italian Jewish origin and his mother was of Protestant Hungarian origin. Assayas started his career in the industry by helping his father. He ghostwrote episodes for TV shows his father was working on when his health failed. In a 2010 interview, Assayas stated that his main political influences when growing up were Guy Debord and George Orwell. Speaking of the 1968 May uprising to overthrow General de Gaulle, Assayas in the same interview stated: "I was defined by the politics of May '68, but for me May '68 was an anti-totalitarian uprising. People seemed to forget that at the occupied Odéon theater, you had crossed flags-black and red, and I was on the side of the black element.".
He made his debut in 1986, after directing some short films and writing for the influential film magazine Cahiers du cinéma.
Assayas's film Cold Water was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival.
His biggest hit to date has been Irma Vep, starring Hong Kong star Maggie Cheung, which manages to be a tribute both to French director Louis Feuillade and to Hong Kong cinema.
While working at Cahiers du cinéma, Assayas wrote lovingly about European film directors he admires but also about Asian directors. One of his films, HHH: A Portrait of Hou Hsiao-Hsien, is a documentary about Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-Hsien.
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