Anne Fontaine

Anne Fontaine (born Anne-Fontaine Sibertin-Blanc), a Luxembourger film director, screenwriter, and former actress, has had an illustrious career in the film industry, distinguishable through her wide array of accomplishments in diverse roles. Born in Luxembourg, her journey in art began at a young age, moving to Lisbon and then Paris, where she extensively trained in dance and pursued academic education. An interesting turn of her career was when she was picked by Robert Hossein to play Esmeralda in the 1980 theatrical production of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and this was when she started using her professional name, Anne Fontaine.

Fontaine continued with acting and gained prominence for her roles in comedies like Si ma gueule vous plaît... (1981) and P.R.O.F.S.(1985). Dipping her toes in directing, she started as an assistant director with a 1986 stage version of Louis-Ferdinand Céline's Journey to the End of the Night at the Renaud-Barrault theatre. Fontaine's first solo directorial venture was Les Histoires d'amour finissent mal... en général (Love Affairs Usually End Badly), which won the 1993 Prix Jean Vigo and was a stepping stone towards her being a vital figure in contemporary French cinema. Notable works of hers include Dry Cleaning (Nettoyage à Sec) which won the Best Screenplay award at the 1997 Venice Film Festival and Coco Before Chanel, a well received biopic of Coco Chanel in 2009. Fontaine holds an intriguing perspective of cinema; her work is often characterized by psychological drama and she explores her characters' blind side in a Freudian way. She remains a curious explorer, fearless in narrating stories with elements of cruelty in them.