Encyclopedia of French Film Directors

1002 • VIANEY, MICHEL
After completing her studies in modern letters (she
earned a master’s degree titled De L’Ecrit au Filmique
/ From Writing to Filmic) and plastic arts, she landed
jobs as an assistant set designer (1991 Les Amants du
Pont-Neuf / USA: The Lovers on the Bridge, Leos Carax,
shot in 1988–1990; 1993 Les Arpenteurs de Montmartre,
Boris Eustache; 1995 Bye Bye, Karim Dridi, France
/ Belgium / Switzerland) and children’s casting director
(1992 Après l’Amour / USA: After Love / Love After
Love, Diane Kurys). She spent four years fi nalizing her
feature-length project and fi nally received the Louis
Delluc Prize in 1996 and the César Award for the
best fi rst work in 1993.
Filmography
1996 Y aura-t-il de la Neige à Noël? / UK: Will It Snow
for Christmas? (also screenwriter, dialogist)
1998 Victor . . . pendant qu’il est trop tard (also screenwriter,
dialogist)
2001 Martha . . . Martha (also co-screenwriter, codialogist)
2006 Il sera une fois . . . (also co-screenwriter, codialogist;
shot in 2004)
VIANEY, MICHEL (February 9, 1932, Paris,
France–December 30, 2008, Blennes, Seine-et-Marne,
France)
He worked as a truck driver, dockworker, and bank
clerk before drifting into journalism. Working for
the weekly magazine L’Express, he went on the set
of Jean-Luc Godard’s Masculin Féminin / Maskulinum
Femininum / UK and USA: Masculine Feminine (France
/ Sweden) in 1965 and wrote a book (1966 En attendant
Godard, Editions Grasset) about the four or fi ve
months he spent with the Swiss director. Weary of
journalism, he turned a screenwriter (1975 Lily aimemoi,
Maurice Dugowson). The producer of the movie
he wrote allowed him to direct his fi rst fi lm, a short.
He was also a novelist (1960 L’Evidence du Printemps,
Les Editeurs Français Réunis; Cortège, Julliard; Elegie
pour Saxo, Julliard; 1968 La Tahison, Julliard; 1992 Deux,
Editions Robert Laffont).
Filmography
1975 Simon dans l’Autobus (short; also screenwriter,
dialogist)
1976 Un Type comme moi ne devrait pas mourir (also
screenwriter, adapter, dialogist)
1977 Plus ça va, moins ça va / Eroticos juegos de la
burguesia (also screenwriter, adapter, dialogist;
France / Spain)
1981 Un Assassin qui passe (also screenwriter,
adapter, dialogist)
1983 Un Dimanche de Flic / Zwei Profi s steigen aus
/ USA: A Cop’s Sunday (also screenwriter,
adapter, dialogist; France / West Germany)
1985 Spécial Police (also co-screenwriter, co-adapter,
co-dialogist)
Television Filmography
1990 La Porte d’Or (also screenwriter, dialogist)
1991 A deux Pas du Paradis (also co-screenwriter,
co-dialogist)
1995 Les Boeufs-Carottes (episodes “Fracture sociale,”
“La Manière forte”)
1999 Le Matador
VIARD, ARNAUD (August 22, 1964, Lyon, Rhône,
France–)
After his commercial studies, he worked as an advertising
chief in an agency (1991–1992). Then he
attended acting courses at the Cours Florent (1991–
1992) and the Ecole du Sapajou (1992–1993). He
played in commercials directed by Patrice Chéreau,
Alain Corneau, Etienne Chatiliez, and Tonie Marshall
before shooting his fi rst short. From 1994 (Une Nounou
pas comme les Autres, TV movie, Eric Civanyan) to
2008 (Que du Bonheur, TV series), he appeared as an
actor in more than twenty shorts, feature fi lms, TV
series, and TV movies. He taught cinema at the Cours
Florent (2001–2002).
Filmography
1997 La Fleur à la Bouche (short; also screenwriter,
dialogist, producer)
2003 Haïku, Rose Victoria (short; also screenwriter,
dialogist, producer)
2004 Clara et moi (also screenwriter, dialogist, producer)
VIARD, PHILIPPE (June 6, 1946, Paris, France–)
At age eighteen, he worked as a messenger boy for a
commercial production company for which he soon
became an assistant. Then he moved to London doing
various jobs in other production companies. Having
returned to France, he directed commercials and
founded his own society, Système 4, which notably
fi nanced a short on the Rolling Stones in 1974. The
movie gave a good return and allowed him to produce
his fi rst and only feature-length fi lm. Released in