Wo-man!
Isabelle Huppert

“I always feel misunderstood, yet that is also what I seek.”
Isabelle Huppert

Pera Film and l'Institut français will be celebrating International Women's Day throughout the month of March with an exclusive program saluting the exceptional work of Isabelle Huppert. One of the most enduring and respected actresses in French cinema, Isabelle Huppert is known for her versatile portrayals of characters ranging from the innocent to the sultry to the comic. She is as renowned for her portrayals of fragile, wide-eyed innocents as for her roles as devious, strong-willed vamps. Her performances are both mesmerizing and convincing, often to the extent that the spectator is drawn helplessly into the drama, hooked by an uncanny empathy with the actress. The selected films of Isabelle Huppert: Wo-man! will give a great insight into her enticing career.

Huppert was born on 16 March 1953. Since 1971 she has acted in over ninety films and TV productions. She has had 14 films in official competition at the Cannes Film Festival, and won the Best Actress Award twice, for Violette Noziere in 1978 and The Piano Teacher in 2001. Huppert is also the most nominated actress for the César Award for Best Actress (even 13 nominations), which she received in 1996 for the role in the film La Cérémonie. She is one of two women ever which have twice received the `Volpi Cup` for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival - first in 1988 for her part in Story of Women, and the second time in 1995 for La Cérémonie; both films were directed by Claude Chabrol. Additionally, she received a Special Lion in 2005 for her role in Gabrielle. Huppert was twice voted Best Actress at the European Film Awards: in 2001 for playing Erika Kohut in The Piano Teacher and in 2002 with the entire cast of 8 Women (directed by François Ozon). She was decorated with the Legion of Honour She made her first prominent role in The Lacemaker by the Swiss director Claude Goretta, for which she won a BAFTA award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Role. Her greater success was the film Violette Noziere directed by Claude Chabrol, which at the same time was the beginning of their long and fruitful collaboration. Huppert has played in his seven movies, hence being often regarded as this director’s muse. She has worked with numerous major directors: Jean-Luc Godard, Marco Ferreri, Werner Schroeter, Michael Haneke.

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