Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani

Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani are husband-and-wife filmmakers based in Brussels, Belgium. They have worked as a writing and directing team for their entire professional film careers.

Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani
Born
Hélène Cattet: 1976 (age 47–48)
Paris, France
Bruno Forzani: 1976 (age 47–48)
Menton, France
NationalityBelgian
Occupations
  • Directors
  • writers
  • producers
Years active2001–present

Their most acclaimed works include Amer (2009), The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears (2013), and Let the Corpses Tan (2017).

Career

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Hélène Cattet, born in 1976 in Paris, and Bruno Forzani, born in the same year in Menton, France, met in Brussels in 1997 and moved there. After developing an interest in filmmaking, the couple directed a number self-produced short films, gaining critical attention in the independent festival circuit. Cattet and Forzani made their full-length debut in 2009 with Amer, an international coproduction between France and Belgium that was described as a postmodern homage to giallo films.[1] The film received general acclaim from critics and earned the couple a Magritte Award nomination in the category of Best Film.[2]

Cattet and Forzani then directed The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears (2013), a thriller film starring Klaus Tange as a man who becomes entangled in a complicated web of lies and murder while seeking the whereabouts of his missing wife. The film polarized critics when it premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, with Nicholas Bell from IndieWire calling it "one of the most cinematically extravagant explorations of the gaudy and grotesque ever committed to film".[3]

Their next film, Let the Corpses Tan (2017), is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Jean-Patrick Manchette and Jean-Pierre Bastid. It revolves around a gang of thieves who arrive at the home of an artist who is caught in a love triangle. The film received eight nominations at the 9th Magritte Awards, including Best Film and Best Director for Cattet and Forzani, winning three.[4]

Filmography

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Feature films
Year Film Credited as Notes
Director Writer
2009 Amer Yes Yes
2013 The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears Yes Yes
2017 Let the Corpses Tan Yes Yes
2025 Reflection in a Dead Diamond[5] Yes Yes In post-production
TBD Darling[6] Yes Yes Animated film – In production
Short films
Year Film Credited as Notes
Director Writer
2001 Catharsis Yes Yes
2002 Yellow Room Yes Yes
2003 The End of Our Love Yes Yes
2004 The Strange Portrait of the Lady in Yellow Yes Yes
2006 Santos Palace Yes Yes
2012 O Is for Orgasm Yes Yes Segment in The ABCs of Death

References

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  1. ^ "Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani Explore Desire in "Amer"". IndieWire. 22 May 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  2. ^ "Amer Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  3. ^ Bell, Nicholas (29 August 2014). "The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears Review". Ioncinema.com. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  4. ^ Richford, Rhonda (2 February 2019). "Belgium's Magritte Awards: 'Our Struggles' Takes Top Prize". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  5. ^ https://www.screendaily.com/news/true-colours-adds-cattet-and-forzanis-reflection-in-a-dead-diamond-to-cannes-slate-exclusive/5192936.article
  6. ^ https://www.ioncinema.com/news/foreign-film-news/helene-cattet-bruno-forzani-reflets-dans-un-diamant-mort
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