Latest News - The Vincent Perez Archives

09 July 2018

For the third year in a row, Vincent has sat on the jury for the annual VR Arles Festival. This past week a short interview was posted during the festival.

Q: You are a faithful member of the VR Arles Festival. In what way does the event seduce you?

VP: It is true that I am a little part of the furniture! But it fascinates me to see developments in the field of virtual reality, to observe in what direction it goes. It opens the mind to other possibilities so it interests me, quite simply.

Q: We associate you with classic cinema. What future do you predict for this movie format?

VP: We are at the beginning of the genre and the field of possibilities is widening. It's like the very beginning of cinema: there is still a whole world that will open, it will become more democratic. Soon, anyone will be able to buy a headset, plug in their phone and see a report broadcast by a newscast in total immersion. With virtual reality, we can find ourselves in the middle of a village bombed in Syria. There is this feeling of being there, this feeling of teleportation that makes us more easily aware of other realities than ours.

Q: Would you like to work on a virtual reality film as an actor or director?

VP: Yes, I am absolutely not closed on it. I think about it, but you have to leave that to the professionals of the genre.

Q: Beyond the festival, what attracts you to Arles?

VP: I'm also a photographer, so it's wonderful to be here right in the middle of my passion. And the city is nice, the people are nice, there is a very cool side that I like very much. Whether it's Forum Square or wherever, wherever you go, you feel good here. I am always very happy to come back to Arles.

06 July 2018

Happy Birthday to Vincent's wife Karine who turns 53 today! Born from a Breton mother and a Senegalese father, Karine Anne Silla was born in Dakar. Here are a couple pictures by photographer Jean-Marie Marion. They're undated but I would guess they were taken at least ten years ago.

Because 2017 marked the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Ireland and Japan, a program of cultural, political and sporting events were planned. On October 14, THE PRICE OF DESIRE was screened at Bunkamura Cinema in Tokyo. The film recounts the complex relationship between the Swiss architect Le Corbusier, one of the pioneers of modern architecture (played by Vincent) and the Irish architect and furniture designer, Eileen Gray. I've posted some of the Japanese posters and new photos that were used to publicize the film.

21 June 2018

Last week Vincent's wife Karine participated in the Cabourg Film Festival as a jury member. The first two photos show her with daughter Tess on the red carpet during the closing ceremony on June 16.

Another family member has come to my attention recently. I had no knowledge of Alexiane Silla until this week. Karine's Franco-Senegalese brother fathered her in 1992. Her mother is white, the daughter of a Canadian diplomat. Alexiane is a singer-musician and last year one of her songs made it to the soundtrack of uncle Luc Besson's film "Valerian". She spent her childhood in Dakar and has lived in Quebec since she was 9. These photos show her and her mother at the Montreal premiere of "Hochelaga" in September.

Following two highly successful previous events, the VR Arles Festival returns to Couvent Saint-Césaire in Arles between July 2 and August 26 for its third year. The festival aims to bring virtual reality cinema, documentary film and artistic creation into the spotlight. The opening week from July 2-8 will be devoted to a competition judged by a jury presided over by Actress Marie Gillain. Sitting on the jury will be Vincent joined by Charlotte Abramow, Christopher Miles, Christophe Ono-dit-Bio, Marie Guillaumont and James Thierrée. 17 films will compete in four categories.

From November 8 to 12, 2018, Paris Salon de la Photo will be back at the Parc des Expositions in Porte de Versailles. This year Vincent has the honor to host the ceremony. The fair features most of the biggest brands of the picture world with over 180 brands represented. For five days, they reveal their novelties as well as their originalities. The Salon de la Photo will also award two photographers with the ZOOM du Public award and ZOOM de la Presse Photo award.

Blast from the Past: I've never seen this photo which was featured in a 1995 edition of El Pais. How do you like the cigarette? Smoking is such a nasty habit. The article describes Vincent as "The Great European Seducer". The caption reads, "To Vincent Perez, love scenes seem simpler than drinking a cup of coffee. This actor displays a catalog of seductive tricks in Queen Margot. In Tentaciones, the magazine that is offered with EL PAÍS, he bares his feelings and confesses his difficult coexistence with beauty.

31 May 2018

While I was on holiday this month, I see that Vincent made his annual appearance at the Cannes Film Festival. The 2018 Cannes Classics lineup included the restored version of Cyrano de Bergerac and, on hand, to represent the film was the director Jean-Paul Rappeneau, Vincent and co-star Jacques Weber. The film's star, Gerard Depardieu, was not in attendance. Rappeneau was not the first to take up the challenge of adapting Edmond Rostand's masterpiece, but he did a superior job with much panache. Vincent recalled the 1990 premiere at Cannes in a Renault video. Click on the photo below to view the clip. He shares how it was one of his most incredible moments at Cannes. There was applause at the end of several scenes, just like at the Opera and before the movie even ended, the whole audience stood up for a standing ovation. The applause continued outside the theater as well. An amazing experience for the young Vincent.

Flashback - 1990 Cannes premiere:

Here are some snapshots of Vincent at the film festival. You can check out more photos in the Cannes 2018 Gallery.

On May 21, Vincent's wife Karine was present at the Atelier Lejeusne in Paris attending the launch of the brand New Era by her 26-year-old daughter Roxane Depardieu. A line of T-shirts and sweaters was unveiled featuring her artwork. Roxane is a graduate of the Los Angeles Institute of Art.

As you may have noticed, Roxane's appearance in the past year or two has greatly changed. In the more recent photos, she looks rather Mexican or Native American. The braids need to go! She was once a very glamorous Afro-French young woman as seen in the first photo below. The second photo shows a more recent photo of her with her half-sister, Tess Perez.

Back in November, Roxane launched her collaboration with TheFrenchKiss, which features a Parisian brand of bamboo and organic cotton clothing for men & women. Attending were her mother, her half-brother Pablo Perez and her aunt Virginie's stepdaughter, Juliette Besson. FYI, Juliette is Luc Besson's daughter by his first marriage to Anne Parillard. He is now married for the fourth time to Karine's sister Virginie. Life can get fairly complicated in the fast lane.

Noticeably absent in all of Roxane's art exhibitions and clothing launches is her stepfather although her biological father did make one appearance. About her affair with Gerard, Karine recently told a French magazine, "Roxane was legitimized by Gerard well before she was born. We met in New York and I followed him to Paris, where I discovered that he was a little less separated than he claimed. That his life was tangled." Indeed, he was still married to Élisabeth Guignot and four year later, after 26 years of marriage, they did divorce. However, he never married Karine and took up with actress Carole Bouquet. When Karine became pregnant again in the summer of 1998, Vincent, her boyfriend at the time, legalized their union in December that year.

I note that Karine is occasionally referred to as "writer Karine Silla". Though she has made her mark as a model, actress, screenwriter, director and novelist, she seems to most often be recognized as simply Vincent Perez's wife. She would be rightly recognized here in America for her own accomplishments.

In an Austrian interview in April, while Roxane was promoting the Culinary & Art Festival, of which Gerard is a patron, she described her relationship with her father as very good and said, "We often talk on the phone." When asked if it was true that her famous dad drank ten bottles of wine a day in the wild times, she responded, "Yes, that was the case. Maybe that's why I do not like alcohol. On special occasions, I sip a glass of champagne." Good for her!