French-Speaking Friends Host Movie Icon
The French-Speaking Friends of TAU together with the French Institute in Israel hosted acclaimed French-Jewish film director and scriptwriter Claude Lelouch at the Tel Aviv University campus. "I am very moved by the warm welcome you have given me. This country is very close to my heart," said Lelouche upon receiving a certificate of appreciation from Chairwoman of the French-Speaking Friends Agnes Goldman and Professor (emer.) Ruth Amossy of TAU's Department of French Studies and honorary patron of the French-Speaking Friends.
The University hosted the Israeli premiere of Lelouche's latest movie, Un + Une ("Him + Her"), followed by a discussion with Israeli journalist Emmanuel Halperin. In speaking about himself and his career, Lelouch shared how the cinema saved his life during the Second World War, when his mother would hide him from the Nazis in movie theaters. "Since then the cinema has been part of my life. It is my oxygen." Lelouch has produced 45 movies, the majority of which have met with international success. His movie A Man a Woman won two Academy Awards and the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
Attending the event were Barbara Wolper, Manager of the French Institute in Israel; Charlotte Gremmen, representative of the Belgian consulate; and Amnon Dick, Chairman of the Israeli Friends of TAU. Proceeds from the evening went toward two student scholarships at TAU.
Prior to the screening, Lelouch held a master class with students of the Steve Tisch School of Film and Television.