Claude Berri

Career overview

Claude Berri was a French film director, producer, screenwriter, distributor, and actor, born Claude Berel Langmann in Paris on July 1, 1934. He died on January 12, 2009, at the age of 74 in Paris. Berri stood as a leading figure of the French film industry, working extensively as both a director and a producer.

Following a short film that won an Academy Award, Berri achieved success with his first feature film, The Two of Us in 1967. This film incorporated his own experiences from the period of World War II during the Nazi occupation of France, depicting a young Jewish boy and an old grumpy man with antisemitic views gradually finding a way to each other.

Throughout his career, Berri had a varied path, producing and distributing both mainstream and avant-garde films. During the 1970s, his films as a director were mostly comedies, but he later found increased success with several high-profile literary adaptations. In 1986, his two-part film Jean de Florette and Manon of the Spring won public and critical acclaim, becoming his best. Over the course of his career, Berri accumulated 127 known production credits.