NEWS: OCTOBER 2014 |

|
 |
Home
| Latest News |
Biography | Filmography |
Theatre | Articles/Interviews
| Gallery |
|
28 October
2014 |
Vincent has chosen his jury
for the Honfleur Film Festival and one name should be
familiar - Fred Cavayé, Dominique
Fernandez, Amanda Sthers and Karine Silla. Yes, his wife! She
continues to do book signings and participated this week in the
third Rendez-vous des écrivains a cartonné. The series of photos
below were taken in conjunction with publicity for her book, "Monsieur
est mort". I'm not sure Vincent was there accompanying his wife
or as a participant.


A
private screening of THE PRICE OF DESIRE
was hosted by De Lorenzo Gallery in NYC on October 14th. In
attendance were its director and cast member Orly Brady. The
small audience at the Tribeca Cinemas was limited to Eileen Gray
collectors. A penny for their thoughts! Prior to the screening,
a limited edition box set of portraits of the cast in character
by Julian Lennon was also unveiled by Sandra Gering Gallery for
"friends of e1027" on behalf of Stoney Road Press. The film made
news earlier this month when the Irish Film Board-funded movie
became involved in a legal spat. Apparently, director Mary
McGuckian is being asked to pay back a €250,000 loan. There is
no official release date yet though we know it won't be in
theaters this year. Here are some portraits of Vincent as Le
Corbusier. The photo in the upper left-hand corner was taken at
the opening and shows Ms. Brady with Vincent's portrait hanging
on the wall to her right.
|
|
23 October
2014 |
On October 16th Vincent
attended the opening of the exhibition, "Kaleidoscopic India",
sponsored by Guerlain, one of the oldest perfume houses in
the world. India was chosen in tribute to the legendary perfume
Shalimar with an exhibition by Indian contemporary artists such as
Jitish Kallat, Shilpa Gupta, and Atul Dodiya.

Vincent also attended the
41st International Fair of Contemporary Art (FIAC)
this week. He is photographed below with his wife
Karine, Anne Consigny and Éric de Chassey.


|
It was announced this week
that Vincent will preside over the jury for the upcoming 22nd
edition of the Russian Film Festival in Honfleur, a
picturesque port city in northwestern France. This event reinforces
the exisiting links between Russia and France. Russian films
subtitled in French are divided into six categories: the competition
before the jury, a panorama, a retrospective of great classics of
Russian cinema, cartoons and children's films, documentaries and
short films. The documentaries section will be devoted to the work
of Galina Dolmatovskaya. The festival will run from November 25-30.
Passionate about Russian culture, Vincent
comes with his own experience of their cinema having worked three
times with Russian filmmakers. In 1996, he starred in "Ligne
de vie"
directed by Pavel Lungin, in 2007 he starred in "Apocalypse
Code" directed by Vadim Shmelev, and earlier this year, he was in the
comedy, "Kitchen in Paris" directed by Dmitri Diatchenko.
(Note: "Kitchen in Paris" will be screened with English subtitles at
the Russian Film Festival at the Autralian Centre for the Moving
Image in Melbourne on November 15 & 21, 2014.)
In an interview published this week, Vincent
was asked about his attraction to Russia. He responded, "Some
Russians have influenced me at crucial moments in my life,
especially in my decision to become an actor. I was 15 or 16 years
old when I read Stanislavski's book on acting because I was
interested in actors, the Actors Studio and the Strasberg method
that was inspired by the Russian director. It was a revelation and
Stanislavski became a sort of mentor for me. Naturally this led me
to the theater and to the works of Anton Chekhov. He was one of the
first writers I became familiar with when I was at the Academy. I
played Sergei Voïnitsov in 'Platonov'."
Below is a photo of that production in 1987.

Vincent then spoke about
working with Pavel Lungin in 1995. "When I arrived in Russia, it was
an amazing time. Moscow was re-organizing. I was in the middle of
this crazy world like Chicago of the 30s. I discovered that the film
was co-produced by the Chechen mafia. There were times when I found
myself in difficult situations, even dangerous, but it did not
affect my passion for Russia. Everything in this country always
exceeds what one might imagine. There is something that touches me
deeply with the Russians... It must be said that France is not
represented in a strong way in Russia right now. Indeed, apart from
the film by Pavel Lungin, the Russian films I did are not great, but
it was a great experience, an opportunity to immerse in their
culture."
He continued, "The Russians
have not yet fully grasped the international language of film,
perspective scenarios. They dream of action cinema and they will
soon get there, but it's true that for the moment Russian film
excels in movies like Andrei Zvyagintsev's "Leviathan", which is
just sublime. And if you look at the other films of this director,
they are faultless - 'The Return' (2003), 'The Banishment' (2007).
I loved 'Elena' (2011). For me, he is the greatest Russian filmmaker
of the new generation. Pavel Chukhrai's films are also excellent and
it's a shame they are not exported. Personally, I would like to see
the movies of Alexei German, but they are not subtitled."
As president of the jury,
Vincent says, "I expect to see films and friends. I'm trying to
assemble a jury that has influence in French society. I want to let
it be known that we need to stop with the clichés. I support the
Honfleur Festival because it is also a way to communicate about this
wonderful culture. Whenever I have the opportunity to do something
with Russia, I take it."
On
recommended Russian films, Vincent shares, "Of course,
Andrei Zvyagintsev's 'Leviathan',
currently released in
theaters in France. But I would point out that the history of
Russian cinema is phenomenal. Everyone knows about Andrei Tarkovsky,
but there is also Elem Klimov,
who nobody knows here.
His film "Requiem pour un massacre" (1985) is one of the
greatest films in the history of film. It's my
favorite movie. I would also recommend seeing The Island' (2006) by
Pavel Lungin and 'The Ballad of the Soldier' (1959) by Grigoriy
Chukhrai. Those who have not had the courage to read 'War and Peace'
by Leo Tolstoy must see the amazing epic film (1996) by
Sergei Bondarchuk." |
|
19 October
2014 |
According to UK's Cent
Magazine, Vincent will showcase his photography
at the Monte Carlo Gallery from November 7 to December 7,
2014. The exhibition is entitled "Les
ballets du Bolshoi". The following description is given -
"The Monte Carlo exhibition showcases a stunning insight into
how he prepares his work with the deep care and magic which shows
the symphonic harmony between the dancers. The swaying of tutus, and
fluidity in their movement is just some of the beautiful elements
seen in these portraits, in particularly the photos showing the
dancers imbricate one with the other, creating an animated scenery.
Perez explains that he speared this exhibition towards three themes,
one of which being the thought on masculinity and feminity. Famous
figures of dancers are seen in the pictures as well as a look on the
backstage, shooting the artist in their private moments.
Encapsulating the movement, evolution and variety within The Dance,
Perez manages to capture the dancers as they take of the flight." The
above photo is one of my favorites among his collection.

As reported previously, Vincent's sister-in-law,
Virginie Silla-Besson and her family now live in the US but
it appears that some of the Perez family will be visiting LA this
week. Here are a few more photos of Vincent's children that were
posted to Instagram. The first one shows
Iman Perez with her cousin Thalia Besson taken maybe six or
seven years ago. Aren't the twins
adorable?
|
|
15 October
2014 |
Two festivals in two different
countries in the last three days! Yes, Vincent knows how to keep
busy. I swear he never declines an invitation. On the 12th he
was back in his homeland attending the Kino Film Festival in
Geneva. Vincent spoke at the opening ceremony of his love for
Russia - "The Russians have a great heart, and Russian cinema
is a genuine treasure-trove." Here are a few photos showing our
man's passion for dancing, especially when he's around Russian
women! More photos can be found at the
Kino Festival gallery.
The following day he was back
in France at the
6th edition of the Grand Lyon Lumière Festival
attending the opening ceremony in which actress Faye
Dunaway was a guest of honor. To pay her homage, Arthur Penn's
"Bonnie and Clyde" was screened before an audience of 5,000. The
media reported, "The crowd was filled with the good and great of the
French film industry from Letitia Casta to Nicole Garcia,
Pierre Richard, Pierre Ange Le Pogam, Vincent Perez, Luc Jacquet and
Julie Gaget." On Tuesday evening Vincent was on
hand to present "L'Extravagant Mr. Deeds" (Mr. Deeds Goes to Town).
The festival was celebrating the work of Frank Capra with a
retrospective focusing on his most prolific period during the
Hollywood Golden Age of the 1930s. With prolonged applause, Vincent
introduced the film recalling the influence of Capra's work in his
own life. A festival regular, Vincent said, "Lumière
is the best film festival in the world." For more photos, check
out the Lumière
gallery.
The above photo was used by the festival but I dislike it immensely.

I'm not sure of the date, but
some time at the end of September, Vincent and his wife attended the
opening of Peter Lindbergh's exhibition at the Gagosian Gallery in
Paris. The German filmmaker is known as one of Vogue's most famous
photographers but his work has also been featured in several
international magazines. This exhibition features his work over the
past 30 years. Back in 2011, I posted Vincent's participation in a
photo shoot by Lindbergh for Vogue Italia. You can watch the video
of the shoot
at this link. So European... So beautiful...

|
|
4 October
2014 |
The
expression, "You have to go where the money is" seems to ring true
these days for some members of Vincent's family. Personally, I would
never leave Paris for LA but that's exactly what Virginie
Silla-Besson has done though she readily admits, "Paris is the
most beautiful city in the world". The Besson name should be
familiar. And the Silla connection is she's Karine's sister and aunt
to Vincent's children. EuropaCorp, the Paris-based producer founded
by Luc Besson, has opened a Los Angeles office to focus on acquiring
movies for North American distribution. Engaging his wife in his
operations, Luc has made Virginie a producer for several of his
films over the past dozen or so years.
In a
recent interview, Virginie commented on how she and her sister
experienced a nomadic childhood because of their parent's
background. Their father was a Senegalese diplomat while their
mother was a Breton physiotherapist. Because of their father's
assignments, the family, which also included two boys, moved
constantly - Chad, Gabon, Mali, Canada. Virginie was actually born
in Canada in 1972 while Karine was born in Dakar seven years
earlier. Summers were often spent in Brittany with their maternal
grandparents. The sisters have remained close through the years.
Virginie and Luc were married in Normandy on August 28, 2004.
Together they have three children - Talia (aka Thalia), age
13, Satine, age 11 and Mao, age 9. Both families have resided in the
same building in Paris for several years so this move will
definitely affect Vincent's wife and children.

On October 2 Vincent attended the inauguration of
the new Clio Renault Espace at the motor show at the Parc des
Expositions at Porte de Versailles in Paris. You'll note the photos
of Vincent with Depardieu. For more photos, check out the
Renault gallery.
|
|
|

|
|