Léa Mysius

Léa Mysius
Léa Mysius in 2014
Born (1989-04-04) 4 April 1989 (age 35)
Bordeaux, France
Occupation(s)Film director, screenwriter
Years active2013–present

Léa Mysius (born 4 April 1989)[1] is a French film director and screenwriter. In 2017, she made her feature directorial debut with the film Ava, which premiered at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival where it won the SACD Award. Her second feature film, The Five Devils, was screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. As a screenwriter, Mysius has also collaborated with Arnaud Desplechin on Ismael's Ghosts (2017) and Oh Mercy! (2019), Jacques Audiard on Paris, 13th District (2021) and Claire Denis on Stars at Noon (2022).

Early life and education

Mysius grew up in the Médoc region of France but moved to Réunion at the age of 13.[2] Her twin sister is set designer Esther Mysius, with whom she often collaborates on film projects.[2] Her brother, Nathan Mysius, also works in the film industry.[3]

At age 17, Mysius obtained a baccalauréat scientifique.[3] She studied literature at the Sorbonne in Paris.[4] In 2010, she entered La Fémis, studying in the screenwriting department.[5] She graduated from La Fémis in 2014.[6][7]

Career

She made her directorial debut in 2013 with the short film Cadavre exquis, for which she also wrote the screenplay. The film won the Prix SACD de la meilleure première oeuvre de fiction at the 2013 Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival.[8] Her 2014 short film Thunderbirds (French: Les oiseaux-tonnerre), which Mysius directed and for which she wrote the screenplay, was also a success at festivals. It was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize in the European Student Films category at the 2015 Angers European First Film Festival[9] and was nominated for the Cinéfondation Selection at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.[10] L'île jaune, co-directed with Paul Guilhaume in 2016, won the Grand Jury Prize in the French First Short Films category at the 2016 Angers European First Film Festival.[11]

In 2017, Mysius co-wrote the screenplay for Arnaud Desplechin's Ismael's Ghosts, which premiered at the opening of the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.[12] Mysius was also represented at Cannes 2017 with her feature film directorial debut, Ava.[13] The films follows a 13-year-old girl named Ava (Noée Abita) who spends a summer by the sea shortly before she goes completely blind due to retinitis pigmentosa. Mysius wrote the film's screenplay, which was also her graduation project at La Fémis.[14] Paul Guilhaume, with whom she had worked on L'île jaune, was the film's cinematographer.[15] At Cannes, Ava was nominated for the Caméra d'Or[16] and won the Prix SACD for Best Feature.[17] The film also received nominations for the Bronze Horse at the 2017 Stockholm International Film Festival[18] and the Sutherland Award in the First Feature Competition at the 2017 BFI London Film Festival.[19]

In 2019, Mysius once again collaborated with Desplechin, co-writing the screenplay for his film Oh Mercy!.[20] In 2020, Mysius and Desplechin received a César Award nomination in the category Best Adaptation for their screenplay,[21] which they adapted from Mosco Boucault's France 3 television documentary film Roubaix, commissariat central (2008).[22]

Her second feature film as director, The Five Devils (Les cinq diables), was selected to be screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.[23] Myisus also co-wrote the script for Claire Denis' 2022 film Stars at Noon with Denis and Andrew Litvack, adapted from the novel The Stars at Noon by American author Denis Johnson.[24] Stars at Noon also had its world premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, where it was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or.[25]

In 2024, she had collaboration credits on the screenplays of two films: Claire Burger's coming-of-age drama Langue étrangère and Jacques Audiard's musical Emilia Pérez.[26][27]

Personal life

Mysius is in a relationship with cinematographer Paul Guilhaume.[3]

Filmography

Year Title Director Screenwriter Notes
2013 Cadavre exquis Yes Yes Short film
L'éblouie No Yes Short film
Fin d'automne No Yes Short film
Ce qui nous échappe No Yes Short film
2014 Les oiseaux-tonnerre Yes Yes Short film
One in a Million No Yes Documentary short film
2015 Bison 6 No Yes Short film
2016 L'île jaune Yes Yes Short film
2017 Ismael's Ghosts No Yes
Ava Yes Yes
2018 Gueule d'Isère No No Short film; associate producer
Samouni Road No Yes Documentary
2019 Farewell to the Night No Yes
Plaisir fantôme No No Short film; associate producer
Oh Mercy! No Yes
2021 Paris, 13th District No Yes
2022 The Five Devils Yes Yes
Stars at Noon No Yes
2024 Langue étrangère No Yes Collaborating writer
Emilia Pérez No Yes Collaborating writer

Awards and nominations

Year Festival Award Film Result Ref(s)
2013 Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival Prix SACD de la meilleure première oeuvre de fiction Cadavre exquis Won [8]
2014 Cannes Film Festival Cinéfondation Selection Les oiseaux-tonnerre Nominated [10]
San Sebastián International Film Festival International Films Students Meeting Second Prize [28]
2015 Angers European First Film Festival Grand Jury Prize-European Student Films Nominated [9]
2016 Grand Jury Prize-French First Short Films L'île jaune Won [11]
2017 Cannes Film Festival Prix SACD Ava Won [17]
Camera d'Or Nominated [16]
Festival du nouveau cinéma Louve d'Or Won [29]
Stockholm International Film Festival Bronze Horse Nominated [18]
Prix Louis-Delluc Best First Film Nominated [30]
BFI London Film Festival Sutherland Award in the First Feature Competition Nominated [19]
2018 Palm Springs International Film Festival New Voices/New Visions Award Honorable Mention for Exceptional Direction [31]
2020 César Awards Best Adaptation Oh Mercy! Nominated [21]
2022 César Awards Best Adaptation Paris, 13th District Nominated [32]

References

  1. ^ "Léa Mysius". Semaine de la Critique (in French). Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  2. ^ a b Chauville, Christophe (21 June 2017). "Ava". Éclairs (in French). Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Simon, Nathalie (21 June 2017). "Ava: la révélation Léa Mysius". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  4. ^ "Ava". exground.com (in German). Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  5. ^ Dessaux, Marine (16 May 2017). "La Fémis racontée par Léa Mysius, scénariste de Desplechin". Le Figaro Étudiant (in French). Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  6. ^ "Léa Mysius". La Fémis (in French). Archived from the original on 22 February 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  7. ^ Regnier, Isabelle (21 June 2017). "" Ava " : brûler sa vie avant de perdre la vue". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  8. ^ a b "Palmarès complet du festival du court-métrage de Clermont-Ferrand 2013". France 3 Auvergne (in French). 9 February 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  9. ^ a b "2015 Catalogue" (PDF). Angers European First Film Festival (in French). p. 66. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  10. ^ a b Knegt, Peter (16 April 2014). "Cannes Announces 2014 Short Film and Cinéfondation Program". IndieWire. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  11. ^ a b "Award list 2016" (PDF). Angers European First Film Festival (in French). p. 2. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  12. ^ Croiset, Laure (17 May 2017). "Que vaut "Les Fantômes d'Ismaël", le film d'Arnaud Desplechin qui ouvrira le Festival de Cannes?". Challenges (in French). Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  13. ^ Felperin, Leslie (20 May 2017). "'Ava': Film Review | Cannes 2017". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  14. ^ Cahen, Ava. "Interview with the director Léa Mysius". Semaine de la Critique. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  15. ^ "Le directeur de la photographie Paul Guilhaume parle de son travail sur "Ava", de Léa Mysius". Afcinema (in French). 18 May 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  16. ^ a b Winfrey, Graham (21 April 2017). "2017 Cannes Critics' Week Announces Lineup, Including 'Brigsby Bear' and Animation From Iran". Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  17. ^ a b Nolfi, Joey (28 May 2017). "The Square wins Cannes Palme d'Or, Sofia Coppola wins Best Director". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  18. ^ a b Mitchell, Wendy (23 October 2017). "Stockholm Film Festival to honour Vanessa Redgrave, Pablo Larrain". Screen Daily. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  19. ^ a b Mueller, Matt (21 August 2017). "BFI London Film Festival unveils 2017 line-up". Screen Daily. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  20. ^ Van Hoeij, Boyd (22 May 2019). "'Oh Mercy!' ('Roubaix, une lumière'): Film Review | Cannes 2019". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  21. ^ a b "César 2020 : "J'accuse", "Les Misérables", "La Belle époque", "Grâce à Dieu"… toutes les nominations". France Inter (in French). 29 January 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  22. ^ Ekchajzer, François (21 August 2019). "A l'origine de "Roubaix, une lumière", un chef-d'œuvre méconnu du genre documentaire". Télérama (in French). Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  23. ^ "LIVE: The Cannes' Directors' Fortnight announces its selection". Cineuropa. 19 April 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  24. ^ Kroll, Justin (14 January 2022). "Danny Ramirez Joins A24's Stars At Noon From Claire Denis". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  25. ^ Marshall, Alex (14 April 2022). "David Cronenberg and Claire Denis Will Compete at Cannes Film Festival". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  26. ^ Salwa, Ola (21 February 2024). "Review: Foreign Tongue". Cineuropa. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  27. ^ Lattanzio, Ryan (13 November 2024). "'Emilia Pérez' Review: Jacques Audiard's Bonkers Trans Musical Is a Debacle You Won't Forget". IndieWire. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  28. ^ "Histórico de Premios - Premio Nest Film Students". San Sebastián International Film Festival (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  29. ^ Dunlevy, T'Cha (16 October 2017). "Festival du nouveau cinéma is in a class of its own". Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  30. ^ "Prix Louis-Delluc 2017 : 9 films en lice pour le "Goncourt du cinéma"". France 24 (in French). AFP. 22 November 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  31. ^ Kilday, Gregg (14 January 2018). "Palm Springs Film Fest: 'Felicite' Named Best Foreign-Language Film". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  32. ^ Garrigues, Manon (26 January 2022). "César 2022 : la liste des nominations dévoilée". Vogue France (in French). Retrieved 22 February 2022.