Olivier Ciappa
| Olivier Ciappa | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
17 March 1979 Marseille, France |
| Nationality | French |
| Occupation | Film director, fine art artist, novelist |
| Years active | 2003–present |
Olivier Ciappa (born 17 March 1979 in Marseille) is a French photographer and film director. He is a director of short films, a director of musicals for the theater, illustrator of books for children, producer and director of documentaries, journalist of cinema, photographer also creator of stamps.
Olivier Ciappa is in particular the director of movies: Fabulous fate of Perrine Martin, To my brother and The case of Ô;. Selected to draw "the face of France" the Marianne stamp seen on 15 billion French stamps, Ciappa then went on to create his photography exhibition "Imaginary Couples", promoting a positive view of homosexuality.
Ciappa directed stage theatre, two musicals, including Le Cabaret des Hommes Perdus, Winner of best musical and best author at the Molières Awards (French Tony Awards), four live action movies, including A Mon Frère - "In Memory of My Brother"., Official France entry selection at the 82d Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film, and one animated short for Disney Animation Studios.
In December 2015, the biggest French publishing company L'Harmattan published his novel "Il Était Deux Frères". Because of the novel's huge success, it quickly became out of stock everywhere.
Each newly elected President of France is permitted to select an artist to design the "Marianne" (the most common French postage stamp). When newly elected François Hollande indicated he would like to choose Ciappa, a controversy ensued. This honor is usually reserved for more established artists, much later in their careers. Hollande felt the best way forward was to allow all France's young generation (all of its high school students) to select the artist. As the students made their choice, Ciappa was selected by every high school in the country. His stamp is now known throughout France, and the drawings have been widely displayed including an exhibition at the French White House.
During 2012, as the debate over legalizing gay marriage in France became very polarizing to the French people, Ciappa looked for a way to bring a more positive image of gay love to a homophobic public. His concept was to show loving people – and challenge others to see this love as anything other than the love of two people. The result is an exhibition of black and white photographs, which has seen unprecedented public displays throughout the country, including at the Place de Republique and the Hotel de Ville in Paris. The photographs feature straight people posing as same sex couples, and include leading athletes, film stars and political figures. With that exhibition, Olivier Ciappa became the youngest person to be on the cover of France’s biggest newspaper |Le Figaro]] A sampling of the photographs are attached below.
...
Wikipedia