The French actress will be the star at the closing ceremony of the Seville European Film Festival, with the screening of her latest film, L'Entreinte, and the presentation of the City of Seville Award, which distinguishes her long and highly acclaimed career with more than 50 works on the big screen
"I am quite proud to still be here, more than 30 years later, having done everything and keeping my curiosity and urge to know more intact," she explained in a recent interview. Looking back on her career, Emmanuelle Béart (Gassin, 1963), winner of the City of Seville 2020 Award, has been one of the great stars of French and European cinema over the last three decades.
She was discovered by Claude Berri (in Manon des Sources, 1986), and conquered half the continent with Jacques Rivette (La Belle Noiseuse, 1991). She was André Téchine's fetish actress ( who included her on three occasions: I Don’t Kiss, Fugitives and The Witnesses), she found her favourite role under Régis Wargnier (A French Woman, 1995), tried her luck in Hollywood with Brian De Palma (in Mission: Impossible, 1996), and let her acting take shape through Claude Chabrol (Hell), Claude Sautet (Nelly and Mr. Arnaud, A Heart in Winter), Olivier Assayas (Les destinées sentimentales), François Ozon (8 women) and Anne Fontaine (Nathalie X). An interesting fact for the history of our festival: Béart has also been directed twice by Jeanne Balibar, who was awarded the City of Seville prize last year. This was done in Par exemple, Electre (2013) and in Merveilles à Montfermeil (2019).
A great resume for a woman who had to shake off the prejudices derived from her privileged physique that had turned her into a sex symbol ("now I see that I spent years looking at myself in a mirror without knowing what I was looking for; I really didn't know I was beautiful, now I'm beginning to realise it, they used to tell me, but I wasn't able to link the compliments to what I felt", she recently confessed in a press conference) in order to win the respect and applause of the French film industry and the public, thanks to her enormous talent and her broad ability to adapt to dozens of characters.
Daughter of the singer and poet Guy Béart and the actress and model Geneviève Galéa, Emmanuelle Béart began her long career at the age of nine, appearing briefly and unrecognised And Hope to Die (Réne Clément, 1972), before officially starting her career with Tomorrow’s Children (Jean Pourtalé, 1976). She has been nominated for eight César awards (she won one, for Best Supporting Actress, for Manon's Revenge), and has won awards at Venice for A Heart in Winter (a role she also received from David di Donatello), and at Cannes and the European Film Awards for 8 Women (2002), awards she shared with her seven fellow cast members.
Beyond her work as an actress, Béart has been applauded for her social commitment, being a UNICEF ambassador since 1996. She has also been named Knight of the Legion of Honour (following in the footsteps of her father, who achieved the same recognition) and was made an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters.
Béart today: films and awards
Emmanuelle Béart's latest work to date is L'Entreinte, the film that will close the SEFF 2020. Directed by the debutant and also actor Ludovic Bergéry, the film follows the adventures of a fifty-plus-woman, who after becoming a widow, has to start all over again. A sensitive and hopeful portrait, who in recent statements expressed that had certain aspects in common with her character: "Growing old is finding joy again. I no longer have the desire to be loved by others," she said.
With the City of Seville Award, Emmanuelle Béart will take over from previously awarded figures of the level of Jeanne Balibar, Valeria Golino (2018), Trine Dyrholm (2017), costume designer Paco Delgado (2016), Timothy Spall (2015), director Claude Lanzmann (2013), Maria de Medeiros (2012), María Galiana (2011), Carlos Saura (2010) and Franco Nero (2008). An award that has been granted by the Seville Festival and its City Council since 2008 (with the exceptions of 2009 and 2014, when it was not awarded) and which recognises the undisputed artistic careers of great names in European cinema.
