Reflecting the breadth of her legacy across different continents, French actor Isabelle Huppert was celebrated by the likes of Alfonso Cuarón, Claire Denis, Alejandro Jodorowsky and François Ozon at the 15th edition of the Lumiere Film Festival in Lyon where she received a sprawling career tribute on Oct. 18.
Huppert kicked off the festivities as she entered the 3000-seat auditorium dancing to the 1980’s disco beats of “Nuit de folie,” dressed in a shimmery champagne gown.
The joyful ceremony, emceed by Huppert’s longtime friend (and Cannes boss) Thierry Fremaux who runs the Lumiere Film Festival, was punctuated by live musical numbers ranging widely from Camelia Jordana’s singing a capella ‘I Will Survive,’ to Julien Clerc performing his 1978 cult song “Ma Preference” by the piano, and French actor Sandrine Kiberlain playfully singing “Nuit de folie” which was said to be Huppert’s unexpected all-time favorite song.
The most vibrant homage of the evening was delivered by Oscar-winning Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron (“Roma”) who has not yet directed Huppert but nevertheless read her a love letter that attributed his passion for French cinema to her.
“These films are politically engaged, and many more celebrate heritage with a sensuality unparalleled in world cinema. Above I believe it’s a focus on character development, intimacy, and the human experience with all this complexity and vulnerabilities that defines French cinema,” said Cuaron, who was accompanied on stage by actor Noemie Merlant (“Tár,” “Portrait of a Lady on Fire”) who translated his speech in French.
“And it’s here, I believe that the mystery lies. It is one that is impossible to fully grasp. And one of its greatest conjurers of these mysteries is Isabelle Huppert. For over 50 years, Isabelle Huppert has cast a spell on the screen, alluring us to explore realms we were to afraid to venture in. She has guided us through the dark labyrinth of our own faults, frustrations, and desires, leading us with grace, enticing us to fully embrace our regrets and disillusions, and even to find pleasure at the expense of pain.”
As she arrived on stage under a thunder of applause, Huppert, who was visibly moved, made the audience break into laugher as she asked, “What have I done to deserve all this? I’m only making films!”
“With cinema, I’ve been around the world, but I haven’t come full circle,” Huppert said. “No matter how many times I do it, I keep thinking: What do I have to say? In fact, I don’t know. What I do know is that a screen shows and hides. It says what you don’t want to say, and it doesn’t say what you do want to say.”
“It protects and exposes. It’s like a screen that carefully guards all the people I’ve met, who have left an indelible mark on my life, with whom I’ve established a virtuous pact that has never failed me. And without whom, as they say, I wouldn’t be here. But if they say it, it’s true. They’ve all given me the most precious gift of all: they’ve looked at me. And that’s what cinema does. Cinema looks at me. It helps to live to be looked at.”
“Cinema keeps the memories alive too. Memory and memories are important. For example, tomorrow I’ll wake up and that luminous moment will be a wonderful memory forever,” said Huppert.
The tribute also included a montage of clips from all of Huppert’s performances spanning over 50 years, including her most iconic roles in films such as Michael Haneke’s “The Piano Teacher,” Claude Chabrol’s “La Cérémonie,” Paul Verhoeven’s “Elle,” Francois Ozon’s “8 Women,” Bertrand Tavernier’s “Coup de torchon,” as well as Michael Cimino’s 1980 epic western movie “Heaven’s Gate.”
At some point during the ceremony, Huppert talked about Cimino whom she said had never fully recovered from seeing “Heaven’s Gate” get panned by critics. She was by Cimino’s side when he visited the Lumiere Festival in 2012 to present the restored “Heaven’s Gate.”
“Right at the first screening, we knew the gate of heaven was going to shut down very quickly and that the gate of hell was going to open for Michael,” said Huppert. “He never fully recovered from this. That’s why the presentation of ‘Heaven’s Gate’ here in Lyon felt to him like a reconciliation with the film and with himself,” she said. “It brought him an immense joy and something he always longed for from the U.S. and ultimately found in France.”
The gala event also gathered admirers and longtime friends of Huppert from all over the world, including Lumiere Film Festival president and actor Irène Jacob, producer Melita Toscan du Plantier, Vincent Perez and James Franco, Karine Silla, Cannes Film Festival president Iris Knobloch, filmmaker Fernando Meirelles, U.S. distributor Richard Lorber, producer Charles Gillibert, French distributor Victor Hadida, among others.
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