Moment of grace, Tuesday February 8, at the Grand amphitheater of La Sorbonne: that evening, a tribute was paid to Jean-Claude Carrière, one year to the day after he left us.
The evening resembled him: warm and brilliant, convivial and full of erudition.
There were lots of smiles, too.
The famous amphitheater of La Sorbonne was packed.
Carrière knew how to bring people together, there were artists, scientists, politicians, and simple enthusiasts of the man who was comfortable in all genres and all registers, from burlesque to mythology, the director, screenwriter, playwright and writer, artistic companion of Brook, Buñuel and so many others.
Read also“He was fascinated by the beauty of the cosmos”: another look at Jean-Claude Carrière
In the room, you could see Carole Bouquet, Nadine Trintignant, Bernard Murat... Brigitte Macron was there, too, discreet and attentive, especially when a highlight of
La Controverse de Valladolid
was played on stage by the troupe of the Théâtre de la City.
This tribute was born on the initiative of Jean Audouze, astrophysicist, of Delphine Bürkli, mayor of the 9th arrondissement of Paris (Carrière, the child of Colombières-sur-Orb, in the Hérault had become a titi of the 9th), and by Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota, director of the Théâtre de la Ville, with the complicity of Nahal Tajadod-Carrière, Iris and Kiara Carrière.
Present at the evening, the writer and journalist Éric Fottorino, is behind the special issue of
Le Un Hebdo
dedicated to Jean-Claude Carrière in which we can find a great interview with Jean-Paul Rappeneau (Carrière wrote the screenplay by Cyrano de Bergerac), and texts by Carole Bouquet, Peter Brook, Atiq Rahimi, Nahal Tajadod…
On the Grand Amphitheater excerpts from
La Controverse de Valladolid
were played , a magnificent opportunity to recall the power of the text, then a reading of the Mahabharata – a story of recalling the work of a ferryman from one culture to another for the lover of India, and a finale with
The Conference of Birds.
Moving testimony of his daughter
These interpretations were interspersed with testimonies.
Young Kiara read an autobiographical text from her father – it was powerful, and, at times, funny.
Peter Brook left a moving message on a projected video.
Video on which we could hear Nahal Tajadod tell how she met her future husband: she was with her
"lover at the time"
, and seeing Jean-Claude Carrière on television, she launched
"He's the man of my life".
We don't know if
the "at the time lover"
liked it, but the story between her and the screenwriter was beautiful.
Former Minister Louis Mermaz made a real splash with his "one on stage" humor that touched the audience.
He recalled the youth of Carrière with whom he was at Lakanal high school in Sceaux.
He greedily recounted his friend's hoaxes and nonsense.
Remember that Jean-Claude Carrière has lent his pen to an extraordinary variety of filmmakers: Louis Malle (
Viva Maria!,
The
Thief
,
Snowy in May
), Jacques Deray (
La Piscine, Borsalino, A Man is Dead, A Butterfly on the shoulder
...), Milos Forman (
Taking off, Valmont, Goya's Ghosts
), Volker Schlöndorff (
The Drum
), Luciano Tovoli (
General of the Dead Army
), Jean-Luc Godard (
Sauve qui peut (la vie )
), Wajda (
Danton, The Possessed
), Oshima (
Max mon amour
), Philip Kaufman (
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
), Jean-Paul Rappeneau (
Cyrano de Bergerac, The Horseman on the Roof
), Michael Haneke (
The White Ribbon
), Philippe Garrel (
The Women's Shadow
) and his son Louis (
The Faithful Man
).
He is no less prolific in theatre, as an author (
La Controverse de Valladolid
), adapter or translator (
La Conférence des Oiseaux, La Tragedie de Carmen, La Tempête
...) and on television, where he notably adapts Flaubert and Balzac.
He was awarded, among other things, the Oscar for best short film, the César for best original screenplay and an Honorary Oscar for all of his work.
He has traveled the cultures of all continents, with a predilection for India and Persia, and his energetic and inexhaustible pen is found behind the names of some of the most prestigious directors: Peter Brook in the theater, Luis Bunuel in the cinema , with a collaboration of six films, from
Diary of a Chambermaid
to
This Obscure Object of Desire
, but also Milos Forman, Volker Schlöndorff with
Le Tambour
, Andrzej Wajda with
Danton
, or Jean-Paul Rappeneau with
Cyrano de Bergerac
.. .
This tribute to the great Amphitheater of the Sorbonne was the first of a beautiful series.
The following will take place at the town hall of the 9th arrondissement, very close to the Hôtel Drouot, which Carrière liked to frequent, and not far from his house near Pigalle.
Tuesday, February 15 at 7 p.m.: screening of the film
Cyrano de Bergerac
in the presence of its director Jean-Paul Rappeneau and Éric Fottorino.
Thursday, March 17, at 7 p.m.:
Words and things
presented by Carole Bouquet.
Tuesday 22 March, at 7 p.m.: screening of the film
L'Homme faithful
, in the presence of the director Louis Garrel.
Thursday March 31, at 7 p.m.:
Jean-Claude Carrière and life
, presented by Marie-Christine Maurel, professor of biology at the Faculty of Paris-Sorbonne.
Tuesday, April 19, 7 p.m.: screening of the film
Belle du jour
, by Luis Bunuel.
Thursday 21 April, at 7 p.m.: “Jean-Claude Carrière, Persia and Iran”, hosted by Nahal Tajadod-Carrière.
Tuesday 24 May, at 7 p.m.: screening of the film
Le retour de Martin Guerre
, in the presence of its director Daniel Vigne.
For more information on this tribute: www.mairie09.paris.fr