Departures of note

Jean-Paul Rappeneau was a French film director and screenwriter born on 8 April 1932 in Auxerre. He began his career as an assistant director and screenwriter, collaborating with Louis Malle on Zazie dans le métro and Vie privée, and co-writing L'Homme de Rio with Philippe de Broca. Over a fifty-year career he directed only eight feature films, each marked by his signature visual elegance and romantic storytelling.

His directorial debut, La Vie de château (1966), won critical acclaim, and he went on to make popular successes including Les Mariés de l'an II (1971), Le Sauvage (1975) and Tout feu, tout flamme (1982), starring major French stars such as Jean-Paul Belmondo, Yves Montand and Catherine Deneuve.

His greatest triumph came in 1990 with Cyrano de Bergerac, an adaptation of Edmond Rostand's play starring Gérard Depardieu, which won ten César Awards including Best Film and Best Director, as well as a Golden Globe for best foreign-language film. He followed it with Le Hussard sur le toit (1995), adapted from Jean Giono's novel, and later Bon voyage (2003) and Belles Familles (2015). He also served as vice-president of the Cinémathèque française.