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Albert Lamorisse

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Albert Lamorisse
Born(1922-01-13)13 January 1922
Paris, France
Died2 June 1970(1970-06-02) (aged 48)
Occupation(s)Writer, screenwriter, director, producer, game designer
Years active1947–70

Albert Lamorisse (French: [lamɔʁis]; 13 January 1922 – 2 June 1970) was a French filmmaker, film producer, and writer, who is best known for his award-winning short films which he began making in the late 1940s, and also for inventing the famous strategic board game Risk in 1957.

Life

Lamorisse was born in Paris, France. He first came into prominence – just after Bim – for directing and producing White Mane (1953), an award-winning short film that tells a fable of how a young boy befriends an untamable wild white stallion in the marshes of Camargue (the Petite Camargue).

Lamorisse's best known work is the short film The Red Balloon (1956), which earned him the Palme d'Or Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, and an Oscar for writing the best original screenplay in 1956.[1]

Lamorisse also wrote, directed and produced the well-regarded films Stowaway in the Sky (1960) and Circus Angel, as well as the documentaries Versailles and Paris Jamais Vu. In addition to films, he created the popular strategy board game Risk in 1957.[2] In the mid-sixties Lamorisse shot parts of The Prospect of Iceland, a documentary about Iceland, which was made by Henry Sandoz and commissioned by NATO.[3]

Lamorisse died in a helicopter crash while filming the documentary Le Vent des amoureux (The Lovers' Wind), during a helicopter-tour of Iran in 1970.[4] The helicopter was left where it crashed as a memorial to the filmmaker, and was still visible as of June 2012.[citation needed] His son and widow completed the film, based on his production notes, and released the film eight years later. It was nominated for a posthumous Oscar for best documentary. The title The Lover's Wind is translated into Saba Wind in Persian. A saba wind is a gentle wind that blows from the northeast, symbolizing the whispers of lovers.

Lamorisse and his wife had three children: a son named Pascal and two daughters named Sabine and Fanny. Pascal and Sabine were featured in The Red Balloon.

Director filmography

Short films

Feature films

Documentaries

Awards

Wins

Nominations

  • British Academy of Film and Television Arts: BAFTA Film Award, White Mane, Best Documentary Film, France; 1954.
  • Venice Film Festival: Golden Lion; Le Voyage en ballon; 1960.
  • Cannes Film Festival: Golden Palm; Fifi la plume; 1965.
  • Cannes Film Festival: Golden Palm; Best Short Film, Versailles; 1967.
  • Academy Awards: Oscar; Best Documentary, Features, Le Vent des amoureux; 1979.

References

  1. ^ Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Awards Database
  2. ^ a b c The Red Balloon, IMDb database entry.
  3. ^ "Ný Íslandskvikmynd á heimssýningunni í Montreal". 19 October 1966.
    "NATOchannel.tv – NATO's official online video channel".
  4. ^ Terence Rafferty (11 November 2007). "Two Short Fables That Revel in Freedom". New York Times. Retrieved 23 December 2007.
  5. ^ Awards lists in 1956, at the official site of the Festival de Cannes.
  6. ^ BAFTA. Winners and nominees list from 1950 to 1959, at the official site of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
  7. ^ National Board of Review. Awards for 1957, NBR web site. Last accessed: 2 November 2007.