Coralie Fargeat (French: [kɔʁali faʁʒa]; born 1976) is a French filmmaker. She gained recognition with her 2017 debut feature film Revenge, for which she received awards from several independent film festivals.[1][2][3][4][5] This was followed by her second feature, The Substance (2024), a satirical body horror film starring Demi Moore, which won her the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Screenplay.
Coralie Fargeat | |
---|---|
Born | 1976 (age 47–48) Paris, France |
Occupation | Filmmaker |
Early life
editFargeat was born and raised in Paris.[6] She decided to be a filmmaker when she was 16 or 17 years old.[7] Fargeat studied at Sciences Po before beginning work on film sets. In 2010, Fargeat attended La Fémis, a prestigious cinema school in Paris.[6][7][8] She was selected to be in its Atelier Scénario, a year-long screenwriting workshop, where she was told her screenplay would never be made because of how violent and graphic it was.[citation needed]
While attending La Fémis, Fargeat and a group of her director friends created a collective called La Squadra, where they all tried to edit their features together, facing similar difficulties as they each wanted to create genre films. They met twice a week and invited filmmakers and industry professionals to share their success stories with them, which helped them to gain a more realistic understanding of the film world, how it works, and the logistics of how to get their stories told.[7]
Career
editFargeat's first short film Le télégramme was released in 2003, a film about two women awaiting a postman's delivery during World War II. The film won 13 awards at several film festivals.[6]
In 2007, Fargeat co-created Les Fées cloches [fr] with Anne-Elisabeth Blateau, a comedy mini-series which she also directed.[9]
Fargeat released her short follow-up Reality+ in 2014. The sci-fi tale received a nomination for the Jury Award at the Tribeca Film Festival.[10]
Fargeat's debut feature film was Revenge (2017), a revenge thriller about a young woman assaulted and left for dead. Inspired by revenge movies like Kill Bill, Rambo, and Mad Max, Fargeat was interested in exploring a character who would seem "weak" to others or the audience, but during the film would undergo a transformation into a "kind of superhero" that would set out to get her revenge.[11] The film had its world premiere at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival in the festival's Midnight Madness section,[12] and was selected to be screened at 23 additional film festivals.[13]
In 2022, Fargeat directed an episode of the Netflix series The Sandman.[14]
Fargeat's second feature film was The Substance (2024), a body horror film starring Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, and Dennis Quaid.[15][16] The film premiered in competition at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival to a strong critical reception.[17] Fargeat went on to win the festival's Best Screenplay award for the film.[18]
Fargeat is a member and one of the founding signatories of Collectif 50/50, a group established with the purpose of working towards gender equality across the film industry.[19]
Filmmaking style and ideology
editFargeat is fascinated with the suspension of disbelief, and is a fan of using imagery and symbols to express something simple in a powerful way.[11] She is fascinated with films that are able to create their own world and manage to exist outside the realm of reality, citing revenge films like Kill Bill and Rambo as examples of this.[11]
In making graphic or gore-filled movies, Fargeat finds that balancing violent scenes with humor makes the violence more tolerable.[20]
Fargeat believes that films that fill themselves with homages and references can push the viewer away from being able to identify with the film.[7] She describes this separation as "second-degree moments" and chooses to stay away from excessive references. Fargeat finds it crucial to approach film and filmmaking with a genuine and sincere vision, stating she tries to "embrace [her] subject in its choices, its biases, its excesses, in its faults too" to achieve this.[7]
When in pre-production for Revenge, she stated that actress Matilda Lutz was chosen for the part partially because of her extensive trust in Fargeat, something that was important to her for the creation of the film.[7]
Fargeat lists David Cronenberg, John Carpenter, David Lynch, and Michael Haneke as filmmakers who have influenced her, as well as crediting several South Korean filmmakers as stylistic inspiration.[21][22]
Filmography
editFeature film
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Editor |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | Revenge | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
2024 | The Substance | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Short film
Year | Title | Director | Writer |
---|---|---|---|
2003 | Le télégramme | Yes | Yes |
2014 | Reality+ | Yes | Yes |
Television
Year | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
2007 | Les Fées Cloches | |
2022 | The Sandman | Episode: "Collectors" |
Awards and nominations
editAward | Year | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amiens International Film Festival | 2004 | Prix des Enfants de la Licorne | Le télégramme | Won | |
Fajr International Film Festival | 2005 | International Competition - Best Short Narrative Film | Won | ||
Corti Da Sogni Antonio Ricci International Short Film Festival | 2015 | European Sogni Award | Reality+ | Won | [23] |
Tribeca Film Festival | 2016 | Jury Award for Best Narrative Short | Nominated | [10] | |
Sitges Film Festival | 2017 | Best Director | Revenge | Won | [24] |
Citizen Kane Award for Best New Director | Won | ||||
Monster Fest | Best International Feature | Won | [25] | ||
Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival | 2018 | The Best of Bucheon Award | Won | [26] | |
Calgary Underground Film Festival | Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature | Won | [27] | ||
Cleveland International Film Festival | New Direction Competition | Nominated | [28] | ||
ReelWomenDirect Award for Excellence in Directing by a Woman | Nominated | ||||
Fangoria Chainsaw Awards | 2019 | Best Director | Nominated | [29] | |
Best Limited Feature | Nominated | ||||
Cannes Film Festival | 2024 | Best Screenplay | The Substance | Won | [30] |
References
edit- ^ "The fantastic fable 'Jupiter's Moon' wins Sitges 2017 - Sitges Film Festival - Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya". sitgesfilmfestival.com. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
- ^ "MONSTER FEST Announces 2017 Award Winners!". Monster Fest. 2017-11-27. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
- ^ "Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival". BIFAN. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
- ^ "2018 Awards - Calgary Underground Film Festival". www.calgaryundergroundfilm.org. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
- ^ "Revenge - Cleveland International Film Festival :: March 30 - April 10, 2022". www.clevelandfilm.org. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
- ^ a b c "Coralie Fargeat". Academy Films. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ^ a b c d e f "Rencontre avec Coralie Fargeat, la réalisatrice du très énervé Revenge". EcranLarge.com (in French). 2018-02-11. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ^ Multier, Marine (2024-04-29). "Festival de Cannes 2024 : 8 films réalisés par des diplômé.e.s et plus de 160 aux génériques de 62 films dont 16 produits par des diplômé.e.s". La Fémis (in French). Retrieved 2024-09-26.
- ^ Carré d'art : Byron, Barbey d'Aurevilly, Dalí, Hallier, Jean-Pierre Thiollet, Anagramme Editions, 2008, p. 143. ISBN 978-2-35035-189-6
- ^ a b "Reality + | 2016 Tribeca Festival". Tribeca. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
- ^ a b c Fargeat, Coralie (2018-05-09). "Matilda Lutz & Coralie Fargeat on women fighting back in Revenge - Exclusive Interview". YouTube. Retrieved 2023-04-22.
- ^ Erbland, Kate (2017-09-13). "'Revenge': Inside the TIFF Midnight Madness Premiere So Intense That Paramedics Were Called". IndieWire. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
- ^ "REVENGE". monsite (in French). Retrieved 2021-12-07.
- ^ "Coralie Fargeat Directing "The Substance" for Universal, Demi Moore & Margaret Qualley to Star". womenandhollywood.com. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (2022-01-31). "Demi Moore & Margaret Qualley To Star In Universal/Working Title's 'The Substance'; 'Revenge' Helmer Coralie Fargeat Directs Her Script". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (2022-02-15). "Ray Liotta Joins Demi Moore & Margaret Qualley In Coralie Fargeat's The Substance'". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
- ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (19 May 2024). "Demi Moore's 'The Substance' World Premiere Gets a 13-Minute Ovation at Cannes". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
- ^ Debruge, Peter (25 May 2024). "Cannes Awards: Female-Centered Stories Win Big in Cannes, as Sean Baker's 'Anora' Earns Palme d'Or". Variety. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
- ^ "Les signataires | Collectif 5050". collectif5050.com. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
- ^ Fargeat, Coralie (2018-05-04). "Coralie Fargeat and Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz Talk about 'Revenge'". YouTube. Build Series LDN. Retrieved 2023-04-22.
- ^ "Director Coralie Fargeat Talks Obsession, Inspirations, and 'Revenge'". Film School Rejects. 2018-09-18. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ^ Cills, Hazel (2018-05-18). "Revenge Director Coralie Fargeat on Playing With Film Clichés and the Artistic Power of Blood". Jezebel. G/O Media. Retrieved 2023-04-22.
- ^ "European Sogni Award – 2015" (in Italian). 2016-04-11. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
- ^ "The fantastic fable 'Jupiter's Moon' wins Sitges 2017 - Sitges Film Festival - Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya". sitgesfilmfestival.com. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
- ^ "MONSTER FEST Announces 2017 Award Winners!". Monster Fest. 2017-11-27. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
- ^ "Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival". BIFAN. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
- ^ "2018 Awards - Calgary Underground Film Festival". www.calgaryundergroundfilm.org. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
- ^ "Revenge - Cleveland International Film Festival :: March 30 - April 10, 2022". www.clevelandfilm.org. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
- ^ "Fangoria Resurrects the Chainsaw Awards Celebrating the Horror Movies Oscar Missed". MovieWeb. 2019-01-22. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
- ^ "The 77th Festival de Cannes winners' list". Festival de Cannes. 2024-05-25. Retrieved 2024-05-26.
Further reading
edit- "Coralie Fargeat Essay". Cut-Throat Women.
- Crucchiola, Jordan; Fargeat, Coralie (2020-04-17). "A French Director Fears Parisians Aren't Taking the Coronavirus Seriously". Vulture.
- "Director Coralie Fargeat Talks Obsession, Inspirations, and 'Revenge'". Film School Rejects. 2018-09-18.
- Fleming, Amy (2018-05-10). "'Revenge' director Coralie Fargeat on her gory riposte to the male gaze". Financial Times.
- Posada, Tim. "Male Hysteria and the New Final Girl in 2018's Revenge." Performing Hysteria (2020): 189–203.
- "Rencontre avec Coralie Fargeat, la réalisatrice du très énervé Revenge". EcranLarge.com (in French). 2018-02-11.