Claude Berri, director
An actor turned director, producer, and screenwriter, Claude Berri is known in France and abroad for transcending conventional genres by making films that integrate both comedy and drama. Berri wrote and directed his first feature-length film, Le Vieil Homme et L'Enfant (The Two of Us), in 1968, which earned international acclaim for its tender, unsentimental execution.
Among the many films he went on to produce were Roman Polanski's Tess (1979), Jean-Jacques Annaud's L'Ours (The Bear) (1988) and L'Amant (The Lover) (1992), and Patrice Chéreau's La Reine Margot (Queen Margot) (1994).
As a director, Berri had further success with two historical dramas, Jean de Florette and its sequel, Manon des Sources (both 1986). He also directed Lucie Aubrac (1997), t he film earned considerable transatlantic acclaim, and Berri followed it in 1999 with La Debandade. In the new millennium, Berri has gone on to produce a variety of films and to write and direct two of his own: Une Femme de Ménage (The Housekeeper) (2002) and L’Un Reste, L’Autre Part (One Stays, the Other Leaves) (2004). Ensemble c’est tout (Hunting and Gathering) is his latest movie to have been released and was nominated for 3 Césars in 2008.
Audrey Tautou, actress
Audrey Tautou found her true calling when she began to study acting in school. She quickly made a mark with her performance in Venus Beauty Institute (1999) and earned the César for Best New Actress.
She then played the main character in The Fabulous Destiny of Amé lie Poulain.Amélie became a record-breaking sensation in France and an art house success in America.
Audrey also appeared in two hit comedies by Cedric Klapish: L’Auberge Espagnole (2002) and its sequel Russian Dolls (2005). She took on her first English-language role in Stephen Frears' acclaimed thriller Dirty Pretty Things (2002) and continued to expand her international career with a dramatic role in Un long dimanche de fiançailles (A Very Long Engagement) (2004). She was selected to star opposite Tom Hanks in Ron Howard's The DaVinci Code (2006).
She was also seen recently in a brilliant comedy Hors de prix (Priceless) (2006), and will be seen in 2009 in a film recounting the early life of French designer Coco Chanel. 
