- This article is about the French author, filmmaker, composer and actor. For the Australian footballer see Cyril Collard .
Cyril Collard (19 December 1957,
Paris - 5 March 1993) was a
French author,
filmmaker,
composer, and
actor. He is known for his unapologetic portrayals of
bisexuality and
HIV in art, particularly his autobiographical novel and film
Les Nuits fauves (
Savage Nights). Openly bisexual, Collard was also one of the first French artists to speak openly about his
HIV-positive status.
Early life
Collard was born into a liberal, middle-class family in France. He attended
Catholic school in
Versailles, and pursued an engineering degree at
Institut Industriel du Nord in Villeneuve d'Ascq, later known as
École centrale de Lille before deciding to drop out.
Books
- Condamné amour (1987)
- Les Nuits fauves (1989) (trans. Savage Nights by William Rodarmor, 1993)
- L'Ange sauvage (1993)
- L'Animal (1984)
Les Nuits fauves
The semi-autobiographical
Savage Nights (
Les Nuits fauves), finished in 1992, was Collard's first and only feature film. It won four
Césars (best editing, best film, best first work, and most promising actress) in 1993. Unfortunately, Collard did not live to accept his award; he had died three days earlier.
Other directing credits
Early in his career, Collard assisted fellow director
Maurice Pialat and directed six
music videos, as well as several
television programs. Among the music videos he directed were those of French-Algerian...
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