Christian Carion
| Christian Carion | |
|---|---|
| Born |
4 January 1963 Cambrai, Nord, France |
| Occupation | Film director, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1999–present |
Christian Carion (born 4 January 1963) is a French film director, dialogue writer and screenwriter.
Life and career
Christian Carion was born in a family of farmers in the North of France. After passing his baccalauréat, he joined an engineering school affiliated to the French ministry of agriculture.
Later he decided to quit his scientific career and began shooting films he himself describes as "uninteresting". When he met Christophe Rossignon, both men started to collaborate in movie-making - Carion as film-maker and Rossignon as producer. In 1999, Rossignon also acted in Carion's short film Monsieur le député.
In 2001, Carion directed his first feature film: Une hirondelle a fait le printemps (The Girl from Paris), the story, an hommage to his upbringing, tells the meeting of a brooding farmer, Michel Serrault, and a parisian girl seeking the calm of the countryside, played by Mathilde Seigner. The film attracted over 2.4 million of French moviegoers.
Following this success, Carion started a more ambitious project, Joyeux Noël (Merry Christmas). Screened in Cannes for the film festival in 2005, this historic film depicts the fraternizations of warriors on the eve of Christmas during World War I. The film was a commercial success. It was nominated for numerous awards at the French César Awards and for the Oscar for Best Foreign Film.
Two years later, he filmed another historic film; L'Affaire Farewell (Farewell), with Emir Kusturica and Guillaume Canet - a spy film set in Russia and based on true events.
In 2014 he shot, on the roads of northern France, En mai, fais ce qu'il te plait. This movie is another historical piece about the exodus of millions of people in May 1940, when France was falling apart and the inhabitants of northern France were fleeing the German troops. Written using numerous recollections from the northern people, the film depicts the quest of a German dissident, looking for his son. The original music was composed by Ennio Morricone.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Credited as | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Screenwriter | Actor | |||
| 1999 | Monsieur le député | Yes | Yes | Short film | |
| 2001 | The Girl from Paris | Yes | Yes | Yes | Palm Springs International Film Festival - John Schlesinger Award (Honourable Mention) Nominated—César Award for Best First Feature Film |
| 2005 | Joyeux Noël | Yes | Yes | Yes | Leeds International Film Festival - Audience Award Santa Barbara International Film Festival - Audience Choice Award Valladolid International Film Festival - FIPRESCI Prize Nominated—Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language Nominated—César Award for Best Film Nominated—César Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated—European Film Academy People's Choice Award for Best European Film Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film Nominated—Globes de Cristal Award for Best Film |
| 2006 | Tell No One | Yes | |||
| 2009 | Farewell | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2015 | En mai, fais ce qu'il te plaît | Yes | Yes | Yes | |