Encyclopedia of French Film Directors

COSCAS, BRIGITTE (July 3, 1963, Suresnes,
Hauts-de-Seine, France–)
She attended acting courses at the Cours Florent
and the Conservatoire National d’Art Dramatique de
Paris and frequented the Annie Fratellini circus school.
A stage performer, fi lm actress (1985 Bébé, short,
Christophe-Jean Elie; 1986 La Puritaine / UK and USA:
The Prude, Jacques Doillon; 1987 La Chouette aveugle,
Raúl Ruiz, France / Switzerland; 1988 Fréquence Meurtre,
Elisabeth Rappeneau), and TV actress (1988 Julien
Fontanes, Magistrat, episode “La Bête noire,” Michel
Berny; 1990 La Seconde, Christopher Frank; Vicky et
Constance, 12 52', Jacques Cluzaud, Jean-Pierre
Prévost), she fi nally opted for a directing career.
Filmography
1989 La Princesse acidulée (short; also screenwriter,
dialogist)
Hier peut-être (short; also screenwriter, dialogist)
1990 Les Mères Méditerranées (video documentary;
also screenwriter)
1992 Une Saison (short; also screenwriter, dialogist)
1994 Les Vampes (short; also screenwriter, dialogist)
1997 Compositions agricoles (documentary; also )
2000 La Terre est ronde (short; also screenwriter)
Mamirolle (also co-screenwriter, co-dialogist)
2006 La Boucle (short)
Television Filmography
1998 Soeur porteuse
2002 P.J. (episodes “Agressions,” “Gang de Filles”)
2003 P.J. (episodes “Enfance volée,” “Délices de
Chine,” “Sauvetage”)
2004 P.J. (episode “Sentiments souterrains”)
2005 P.J. (episodes “Séquestration,” “Religion”)
COSTA-GAVRAS (Konstantinos Gavras / February
12, 1933, Loutra-Iraias, Greece–)
The son of a bureaucrat of the Greek government
who joined the Resistance during World War II, he
encountered many diffi culties after his father was
suspected of being a Communist and put into jail. The
doors of Greek universities were closed to him, and he
was refused a visa to study in the USA. In 1951, he settled
in France, where he studied literature and law for
two years before entering the IDHEC. In 1958, he was
hired as a trainee assistant director (L’Ambitieuse / UK:
COSTA-GAVRAS • 255
The Dispossessed / USA: The Ambitious One / US TV: The
Climbers, Yves Allégret, France / Italy / Australia) before
serving as second assistant director (1960 Robinson et
le Triporteur / Holà, Robinson! / USA: Monsieur Robinson
Crusoe, Jack Pinoteau, France / Spain; Crésus, Jean Giono;
1961 Tout l’Or du Monde / Tutto l’oro del mondo / UK
and USA: All the Gold in the World, René Clair, France /
Italy) and then fi rst assistant director (1962 Un Singe
en Hiver / UK: It’s Hot in Hell / USA: A Monkey in Winter,
Henri Verneuil; 1963 La Baie des Anges / UK: Bay of
Angels / USA: Bay of the Angels, Jacques Demy; Le Jour et
l’Heure / Il giorno e l’ora / UK: Today We Live / USA: The
Day and the Hour, René Clément, France / Italy; Peau de
Banane / Buccia di banana / USA: Banana Peel, Marcel
Ophüls, France / Italy; 1964 Les Félins / UK: The Love
Cage / USA: Joy House, René Clément; Echappement
libre / Scappamento aperto / A escape libre / Der Boss
hat sich was ausgedacht / USA: Backfi re, Jean Becker,
France / Italy / Spain / West Germany). Thanks to the
help of Simone Signoret and Yves Montand, he made
his directing debut fi lming an adaptation of a Sébastien
Japrisot novel. He occasionally co-wrote movies (1976
Monsieur Klein / Chi è Mr. Klein? / UK and USA: Mr. Klein,
uncredited, Joseph Losey, France / Italy; 2006 Mon Colonel,
also producer, Laurent Herbiet, France / Belgium),
played in a few fi lms (1977 La Vie devant soi / UK: A Life
Ahead / USA: Madame Rosa, Moshé Mizrahi;1985 Spies
Like Us, John Landis, USA; 1996 The Stupids, John Landis,
USA), and appeared as himself in various documentaries
(1974 Le Cinéma français par ceux qui l’ont fait,
Armand Panigel; Les Deux Mémoires, Jorge Semprun;
1976 Costa-Gavras—Talks with Marcel Carné, TV short,
John Musilli; 1979 Cineastas en México: Entrevista a
Costa Gavras, Miguel Necoechea, Mexico; 2002 Romy
Schneider, Etrange Etrangère, TV, Anne Andreu). He
co-founded with his wife Michèle Ray-Gavras a production
company, KG Productions, which co-fi nanced
most of his fi lms and such movies as Le Thé au Harem
d’Archimède / USA: Tea in the Harem (Mehdi Charef,
1985), Miss Mona (Mehdi Charef), and Pleure pas, My
Love (Tony Gatlif, 1989).
Filmography
1958 Les Rates (short; also screenwriter)
1965 Compartiment Tueurs / UK: The Sleeping Car
Murder / USA: The Sleeping Car Murders (also
screenwriter, adapter, producer)
1967 Un Homme de trop / Il 13° uomo / UK and
USA: Shock Troops (as Constantin Costa-
Gavras; also co-screenwriter, co-adapter,
producer; France / Italy)