Brigitte Roüan

This article borrows largely from a New York Times profile of the artist.

Brigitte Rouan (born 1951) is a French film director and actress.

Early life and career

Rouan was born into a French naval family in Toulon in 1951. She was orphaned at age six and spent her childhood in Algeria and Senegal. At age 12, she left for convent school in Paris.

Her acting career began at age 21, on the stage. Her performance lead the way to small film roles for directors including Alain Resnais, Jacques Rivette, and Bertrand Tavernier.

Directing career

Rouan became a director in her own right when she helmed a short film titled Grosse. It won a Cesar in 1986. She would become a feature film director with Overseas (1990), which won the Critics' Week award at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival. She co-starred in the film with Marianne Basler and Nicole Garcia to portray sisters in colonial North Africa during the 1950s.

The now actor-director would continue in roles, including one in Olivier, Olivier (1991) for Polish director Agnieszka Holland.

Rouan's 1997 film Post Coitum, Animal Triste garnered attention for its depiction of an affair between a middle-aged woman (played by Rouan herself) and a younger man. The film was a success in its native country and received strong notices in America, where it screened at the New York Film Festival before playing to arthouse crowds.

Director filmography

Travaux, on sait quand ça commence... (Housewarming) (2005)
Post Coitum, Animal Triste (After Sex) (1997)
Overseas (1990)

Partial actor filmography

The Pleasure Is All Mine (2004)
Le Temps du Loup (Time of the Wolf) (2003)
Post Coitum, Animal Triste (1997)
Overseas (1990)

External link

• "Post Release: Post-Coitum's Brigitte Rouan" by Brandon Judell, indieWIRE website, retrieved April 13, 2006