Gérard Depardieu To Give Master Class In Montreal

by Sandy Mandelberger, North American Editor

For devotees of French cinema, it doesn't get much better than this. Gérard Depardieu, the bad boy-turned-eminence grise of French cinema, will give a master class on the cinema at the Montreal World Film Festival on the Festival's final day of September 6. The celebrated French star will reflect on his craft, his experiences with the great film directors of his era and on his vision of the contemporary cinema.

“It was in Montreal, in 1983, that Gérard Depardieu received his first Best Actor award from a major festival for his role in Andrzej Wajda’s DANTON,” MWFF president Serge Losique reminisced in a prepared statement. “Since then the MWFF has always been able to count on his friendship and fidelity and we are especially honored that he has agreed to participate in this exceptional event.”

Depardieu’s perspective on the "seventh art" includes his acting for a who’s-who of contemporary cineastes from around the world, including such iconic directors as Claude Berri, Bernardo Bertolucci, Bertrand Blier, Claude Chabrol, Marguerite Duras, Marco Ferreri, Jean-Luc Godard, Peter Handke, Claude Miller, Maurice Pialat, Alain Resnais, Barbet Schroeder, Ridley Scott, Daniel Schmid, François Truffaut, Andrzej Wajda and Peter Weir. The actor has clocked nearly sixty films in a career that now spans four decades.

The Montreal World Film Festival, a traditional bastion of French cinema, will take place August 26 to September 6, 2010. For more information, visit the Festival's website: www.ffm-montreal.org