Françoise Dorléac

Jacques Demy’s ability to enchant audiences was rooted in his personal struggles and doubts as a showman, establishing him as one of French cinema’s greatest artists.

She is said to be cold, secretive and mysterious. She has the reputation of not letting anything of her intimate thoughts, her private life, her joys as well as her torments show through. She managed to protect her family, her loves, her choices from the curiosity of magazines and her public. A tour de force for a sixty year long career with more than one hundred and thirty films shot with the greatest filmmakers in the world. However, the raw material for a very personal account of Catherine Deneuve exists: it can be found in the interviews given by the actress from her beginnings until today. They allow us to discover another Catherine Deneuve.

Charismatic and resourceful, seducer and daredevil, Jean-Paul Belmondo has always played his roles as he lived, at a thousand miles an hour. He had only one passion: to entertain the public with his smile, his naturalness, his energy, his stunts. But contrary to appearances, his destiny was full of pitfalls. This film lifts the veil on a founding childhood that allowed him to overcome many obstacles throughout his life thanks to the tutelary figures of his father and mother. Told from the inside with the help of his autobiography, interviews and unpublished archives, this epic story traces the career of this turbulent young actor who launched the New Wave in Breathless before becoming the popular Bebel, an indestructible and provocative vigilante. From film to film, this documentary paints an intimate portrait of a man who built himself up to reach the top: his triumphs but also his trials, his doubts, his secrets, his angers, his clowning, his disappointments or his personal dramas.

In the summer of 2021, the Sœurs Jumelles festival was launched in Rochefort, a place where music and images come together. A film concert was held there on June 23 in tribute to Michel Legrand and Jacques Demy.

Born into a family of actors, Françoise Dorléac, Catherine Deneuve's older sister, began her career at the age of 15. She shone a few years later alongside Jean-Paul Belmondo in "L'Homme de Rio". From there, a great international career is announced to the young actress. But in 1967, a few months after filming the "Demoiselles de Rochefort" with her sister, she died tragically in a road accident, at the age of 25. Nevertheless, she leaves behind an abundant career and thus continues to be present in the minds of cinephiles.

A portray of French actress Françoise Dorléac

Catherine Deneuve couldn’t care less about being a celebrity, but fame made her an icon long ago and she occupies a special place in our imagination. The star is not one to let others get too close, but when she gives you her confidence, she keeps her word. If Deneuve’s career covers a half-century of cinema, it also bears witness to the force of a generation that experienced the deepest transformation of mores. This portrait reflects her entirely. The story of a mystery and an adventure.

Mag Bodard, un destin is an archive documentary filmed for television by Anne Wiazemsky in 2005.

A story about the riddle of femininity in French cinema.

Françoise Dorléac et Catherine Deneuve were nearly twins. Only 18 months separated these sisters who liked to say “Both of us could make the ideal woman”. Françoise Dorléac created her own style, unique even in France : a rare mix of elegance, humor, glamour. This is a touching portrait of an actress whose glory was cut short, seen through the eyes of her sister Catherine.