Latest News - The Vincent Perez Archives

14 February 2021

For 22 years since the creation of the VPA, I have not been able to create a movie page for a short film called CENDRE D'OR due to lack of information. The 17-minute film was directed by Jean-Philippe Ecoffey in 1992 with a cast that included Vincent, Marie Dubois, Bernard Ballet, Elisabeth Kaza and Dolorès Chaplin. I recently came across an article about the film in the French newspaper La Nouvelle République.

The film was shot in the Deux-Sèvres in Western France, which has served as the backdrop for many films. The reason this locale was chosen was because producer Benoît Jaubert was from Beauvoir-sur-Niort. In 1992, his parents still lived there. Hence, the setting. The story concerns a farmer's grandson named Xavier, who returns from military service in North Africa. He brings with him his girlfriend who he met there. In the photo below is a very young Vincent taking a break with his director.

Jean-Philippe was a long-time friend of Vincent's, sharing Swiss nationality and training at the Amandiers school in Nanterre under the leadership of Patrice Chéreau. The director was accompanied on location by his companion at the time, actress Marine Delterme. Also present during the shoot was actress Jacqueline Bisset, who Vincent had been dating since 1988. The newspaper pointed out that it was strange to see this beautiful international star strolling in her jeans around the countryside.

Newspaper excerpt:

One afternoon in June 1992. A stubborn sun heats up the courtyard of a small isolated farm among the cornfields near Prissé-la-Charrière. Vincent Pérez is waiting at the entrance to the living room of the small farmhouse. At the signal, he enters: "I have brought you my sun". This sentence by the one who has just triumphed over Catherine Deneuve in "Indochine" will be repeated five times until director Jean-Philippe Ecoffey is satisfied.

For a week, the small farm in Prissé-la-Charrière will experience a joyful bustle punctuated by meals taken around a large table set up in the shade. On the last evening, the actors, director, producers and the technicians from the Moulin du Roc meet in the barn of the farmhouse for a large banquet. With the last bite of chocolate cake swallowed, Vincent gets up to step out onto the edge of a cornfield and sings at the top of his lungs under the moonlight.

In honor of Valentine's Day, we will celebrate familial love! The first two photos show Vincent's wife Karine Silla with their daughter Tess. The second set of photos show Karine's mother Renee, brother Jean-Baptiste and sister Virginie.

Recently twins Tess and Pablo celebrated their 18th birthday and the proud father posted this photo of the pair.

10 February 2021

The web site for Rencontres 7ème Art Lausanne has been reworked and now contains an archive of previous editions. If you look at the team management page, you'll see that many of Vincent's friends and family are involved. His wife Karine is the Art Director for Events and Hospitality. Some of the patrons include his brother-in-law Luc Besson and sister-in-law Virginie Besson-Silla and several actresses he has worked with - Sophie Marceau, Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, Irène Jacob and Emma Thompson.

In a 2018 interview in Polka magazine, Vincent was asked how the idea of this celebration of cinema came about. He responded, "I recently discovered that the Lausanne Cinémathèque archives were stored in the village of Penthaz, fifteen kilometers from the city. I happened to grow up there. These archives are next to the football field where I played as a child; two people from the film library now live in my childhood home built by my father. It was like a sign. I have always liked living experiences, taking on challenges and, in a way, putting myself in danger: my first photo exhibition at the European House of Photography in Paris in 2017, my first photo book published by Delpire entitled 'A Voyage to Russia' and above all, my first truly international film, 'Alone in Berlin'. This feature film was a trigger. It took me ten years to make it and it revolutionized my relationship with cinema. And then there is the Lumière festival, created by Thierry Frémeaux and dedicated to heritage films, which influenced me and made me want to share my passion for cinema. So I started working on the project to set up a festival in Lausanne, a city with 40,000 academics and some of the best faculties in the world. The guiding principle has imposed itself: to establish a link between heritage, transmission and prospective."

08 February 2021

In my last post, I mentioned that Vincent had a special fondness for hats. In March 2018, he was in Alessandria, Italy, and took time to visit the Borsalino factory, the oldest Italian company specializing in the manufacture of luxury hats. Since 1857, these felt hats have been known for their extraordinary quality, unmistakable style and timeless elegance. Vincent was curious how the historic hats were made so he visited the factory and discovered how much craftsmanship there is behind each piece. In the first photo he poses with Roberta Datola, who's been working for the company for 22 years, and in the second photo, he poses with a couple of the factory workers. The hat suits him well.

I love this striking photo taken at Cannes in 2017. When I look at it, I can't resist singing "Puttin' on the Ritz".

05 February 2021

In a March 24, 2017 Swiss edition of Madame Figaro, Vincent shared some of his favorite places in Lausanne.

Beau-Rivage Palace
"This hotel is a strange marriage between glamour and simplicity. Nestled in a garden facing the Alps, by the lake and its banks, in Ouchy, but also ten minutes from the city center. It enjoys an exceptional location. From Victor Hugo to Charlie Chaplin, Coco Chaplin or Tina Turner, celebrities have been staying there since 1861! It gives off a unique atmosphere."

La Brasserie de Montbenon
"Everything pleases me: its historic building, its terrace, its Vaudois products and its popular but high-quality cuisine."

Bar Tabac
"To read between two meetings. Authentic and friendly atmosphere."

Chat Noir
"We eat well there among the musicians of L'Opera de Lausanne and surrounded by black and white photos of the celebrities who have come here."

La Pinte Besson and Café de l’Évêché
'You don't leave Lausanne without having, at least once, tasted a fondue. For this, head to La Pinte Besson, one of the oldest cafes in the city, which dates from 1780! At Café de l’Évêché, next to the cathedral, I like the atmosphere enlivened by large tables with very happy customers."

Coup de Chapeau
"A charismatic hatter where I buy my headgear. An accessory that I wear often, I feel good under a hat."

The photo used by Madame Figaro was actually from a 2013 photo shoot. Here are some new hi-res images:

It just so happens that Vincent's younger sister Estrella is also a chapeau lover and is a creator of some beautiful women's hats. Very talented! The photo below of Estrella and Vincent was probably taken in the '90s. I can't identify the man.

And speaking of hats, this latest photo of Vincent's model daughter Iman posing for Thailand's Vogue is embued with Asian elegance. I want to look like this in my next life!

30 January 2021

The other day I posted a new gallery for the 47th Cannes Film Festival in 1994 but forgot to add these two photos of Vincent and Carla Bruni.

There's a new gallery in the "Photography" section, which features the photo shoot Vincent did for Normal Magazine two years ago. Looks like it was a rough day for him with all these pretty nude girls posing for him!

24 January 2021

In lieu of the fact that there's a pandemic and there are so few events to report on, I will continue to add new material to the VPA. Today I've posted a photo gallery for the 1994 Cannes Film Festival. It was the year that "Queen Margot" premiered and Vincent was dating the famous model Carla Bruni. What a gorgeous couple they made!

The historical costume drama won the Jury Award and the Best Actress Award for Virna Lisi at Cannes and it also won five Césars the following year. Vincent had already become France's heartthrob after starring in "Cyrano de Bergerac" (1990) and "Indochine" (1992) and playing the handsome "La Mole" only strengthened his charismatic film presence. The love scenes and his nudity were a sensation at the time.

There's an interesting clip on youtube of the film's cast trying out their costumes. Vincent can be seen right after Virni Lisa at the very beginning. Click on this photo for the link.

21 January 2021

A week ago it was announced that the 4th edition of Rencontres 7ème Art Lausanne, originally scheduled in March, has now been postponed to a later date - April 26 to May 2, 2021. Vincent released this statement - "Dear friends, with the entire Rencontres team, even if we are committed to promoting and supporting Culture and Cinema in these difficult times, everyone's health and safety remains a priority. This is just a postponement. We will all meet again, together, very quickly!"

17 January 2021

The latest issue of Swiss Health magazine has Vincent on its cover with an extensive interview in which he talks about his love of Switzerland, exercise, his Rencontres 7e Art creation and his family.

One of the reasons he visits Lausanne often is to visit his 81-year-old German mother Arnoldine, who lives nearby in Morges and who suffers from Alzheimer's. Here is a photograph of her posted by Vincent a couple years ago. As many of you know, Vincent's father is Spanish but I didn't realize until recently that his father's full name is Antonio Perez Alberola. At some point, Vincent obviously shortened his last name to just Perez.

When Vincent is asked to describe the Rencontres 7e Art in Lausanne, he responds, "The festival lasts for four days, and we screen 40 to 50 movies in different locations around the city. They are all classics. Every year we set a theme and create a program around that theme. We also have conferences, which take place either in the Capital, a beautiful cinema in the center of Lausanne, or in other cinemas. The audience is generally between 18 and 35 years old with, of course, some older people, but I think it’s great that it attracts a young crowd. We partner with seven universities and colleges in Lausanne... Those 40,000 students are our target audience, but the festival is, of course, open to everybody."

Pictured below is Vincent with his wife and three children at the 2019 festival.

While Perez fans know that Iman is into modeling and horses and Pablo is at a Connecticut academy pursuing his dream of becoming a professional basketball player, we now know that Tess is interested in also coming to the States to study singing at a conservatory of music.

As far as Vincent's next project, he predicts he will be directing a new movie and will be choosing the cast very soon. He says, "We will be sending out the script to actors. I’ll be working with a wonderful English producer, Jeremy Thomas, who has worked on movies like 'The Last Emperor'. He’s an absolute genius, and I feel very lucky to be able to work with him. My co-writer is John Collee, who wrote 'Master and Commander'. It is an ecological thriller, kind of a metaphor of where we are, a reflection on our relationship with ecology. We don’t really know where to place ourselves, how we can do something for the planet, what is happening, and it scares us. So this movie plays with that idea."

02 January 2021

Due to the pandemic, Rencontres 7e Art Lausanne was canceled in March last year. In 2018, Vincent teamed up with the Cinémathèque Suisse, the country’s premiere film archive, to launch a heritage film festival in the actor’s hometown of Lausanne. For its first edition, the event ran under the title r7al – the Rencontres 7e Art Lausanne – and was rebranded Think Cinema Lausanne the following year. The official web site has announced the dates for this year's edition - March 12-21, 2021. However, it remains to be seen if the event will take place considering the situation with Covid-19 at that time. The following photos were featured in last year's coverage by Bâle Région Mag.

The pandemic has not only affected Vincent's filmmaking but also his continued work as a photographer. His last exhibition was at the Swiss Camera Museum, which ran from November 21, 2019 until January 26, 2020. Le Régional conducted the following interview at that time.

Q: Where does your love of photography come from?

Vincent; It was Pierre Gisling, my mentor and friend, who passed it on to me. He discovered me in Lausanne during a drawing competition when I was eleven years old. He was organizing drawing camps for young people and on my first trip he handed me a 24x36 Yashica and said: "Here, you should try this!". My first photograph was his portrait. The passion for photography has never left me since. Subsequently, I apprenticed as a photographer between Lausanne and Vevey.

Q: Did the Africans of Paris accept you easily?

Vincent: This series was made for the European House of Photography in Paris. It is a bit like the grail of the photographer. I was on display in the Irving Penn room, my hero. For the occasion, I immersed myself in the Château Rouge metro district in Paris. The meeting with the Congolese sappers was the trigger, magnificent dandies who claim the art of loving each other. Sapology is a fascinating story that is part of the history of the Congo. I was greeted by the "Bachelor" who became a friend, and his Sape and Co store became my studio. I stayed there for whole days, a whole summer, to absorb their life, and the daily life of this little piece of Africa. I liked the looks, the beauty of the faces and the color of the clothes and then their kindness despite hard lives. Outside the neighborhood, they told me that they were becoming invisible in the white world.

Q: Why do you take a lot of portraits?

Vincent: To approach others, to enter other universes, to enrich my life. When I photograph a subject, I spend time with the person, I connect with them, we create a bond together. We exchange and then naturally, I photograph. I like to drop the mask. I'm looking for a moment of truth between us. François Hebel, director of the Henri Cartier Bresson foundation, who was at the time director of the Arles photography meetings, had exposed me there in 2014 and had himself been my curator. When I discovered the exhibition, I had the impression of being in the presence of the subjects I had photographed.

Q: And how does Russia inspire you?

Vincent: I have been going there regularly since 1995. In some respects this country has changed a lot and in others not at all. A sixth of the planet, a neighbor of Europe, so close to us and yet few people are interested in it. You think the Russians are cold and closed, but it is one of the most hospitable countries that I know. My images represent the Russia of small hands, villages and extremes. From north to south going to the east among the Buryats. A fascinating journey and images that are part of my first photographer's book, "A trip to Russia"

[For more images, check out the photography section]

In February 2020 Vincent spent a day at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, an art school in the Montparnasse district of Paris. At that time it was announced that he was working on a photo book on models and muses. The photo below was taken that day with actress/opera singer Elise Maitre. [See January/February 2020 news for more photos]