Laetitia Masson

Lætitia Masson
Laetitia Masson in 2012
Born	(1966-08-18) 18 August 1966 (age 57) Épinal, France
Occupation(s)	Film director, screenwriter
Years active	1991–present

Lætitia Masson (born 18 August 1966)^[1] is a French film director and screenwriter. She has directed twelve films since 1991. Her film For Sale was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival.^[2]

Early life and education[edit]

Laetitia Masson spent her early years in Nancy, France. Her parents, both teachers, appreciated film. Masson saw her first film by Jean-Luc Godard at the age of seven.^[3] Her father was an amateur filmmaker inspired by New Wave cinema,^[4] and exposure to this love of film may have contributed to her study of literature and cinema in Paris, before studying as La Fémis film school.^[3] There, Masson graduated from the “Département Image,” in 1991.^[5]

Career[edit]

Laetitia Masson has had a prolific film career, directing and writing several short and feature-length films. She has also worked in education and holds a position at La Fémis film school in Paris, France, where she currently directs a 3rd-year workshop.^[6] In 2014, Masson was the president of the jury for general and international admissions.^[7]

Feature films[edit]

En avoir (ou pas)[edit]

Written and Directed by Laetitia Masson, En avoir (ou pas) (1996), her first feature film, was very successful. The film, a production of CLP-Dacia Films and produced by Francois Cuel and Georges Benayoun, follows the story of Alice, a young woman from Boulogne that has just lost her job at the cannery, and Bruno, another lonely heart from Lyon working in construction.

For Sale[edit]

Masson's second feature film, For Sale (1998) is about a woman, France Robert that has disappeared the day of her wedding and the detective that investigates her whereabouts while tracing her life through interviews.

Love Me[edit]

In this film, Love Me (2000), a young woman that escapes her present and past realities in the safety of dreams chases after a singer in search of love. The film is produced by Ciné Valse and stars Sandrine Kiberlain.^[8]

The Repentant[edit]

In Masson's 2002 feature film, The Repentant (La Repentie), a woman looking to rebuild her life arrives in a new city, but a stranger man follows her.^[9] Masson uses Isabelle Adjani as her femme fatale and incorporates themes of mystery and impulsiveness to illustrate the feeling of starting anew.^[10]

Pourquoi (pas) le Brésil[edit]

An adaptation of the book Pourqoui le Brésil by Christine Angot.^[11]

Coupable[edit]

An story of unfolding desire, temptation and passion, the maid and the widow are both investigated for the death of Mr. Kaplan.

G.H.B. (Être ou pas être)[edit]

The story of love told from the story of everything, the "story of all stories."^[12]

Filmography[edit]

Director[edit]

Short films[edit]

• Les Petits Bateaux (1988)
• Un Souvenir de soleil (1990)
• Chante de guerre parisien (1991)
• Nulle Part (1993)
• Veritage de l’amour (1994)
• Je suis venue te dire (1997)^[13]

Feature Length[edit]

• En avoir (ou pas) (1996)
• For Sale (1998)
• Love Me (2000)
• The Repentant (2002)
• Pourquoi (pas) le Brésil (2004)
• Coupable (2007)
• G.H.B. (Être ou pas être) (2013)^[14]
• Un hiver en été (2023)
• Suzanne la pleureuse (TBA)^[15]

Television[edit]

• 3000 scénarios contre un virus (1994-1995), 1 episode
• Vertige de l’amour (1995)
• L’erotisme ve par… (2001) 1 episode
• Quelle importance (2001)
• X Femmes (2008- ), 1 episode
• Enculées (2008) Season 1, Episode 4
• Petite Fille (2011)^[16]
• Aurore (2017), 3 Episodes
  • Requiem (2017)
  • Les fantômes (2017)
  • L’enfance (2017)
• Chevrotine (2022)

Writer[edit]

• Bar des rails (1991), credited as “script girl”
• Chant de guerre parisien (1991)
• Nulle part (1993)
• En avoir (ou pas) (1996)
• Je suis venue te dire (1997)
• For Sale (1998)
• Love Me (2000)
• The Repentant (2002)
• Pourquoi (pas) le Brésil (2004)
• Coupable (2007)
• X Femmes (2008- ), 1 episode
• Enculées (2008) Season 1, Episode 4
• Petite Fille (2011)
• G.H.B. (Être ou pas être) (2013)
• Aurore (2017), 3 Episodes
• Requiem (2017)
• Les fantômes (2017)
• L’enfance (2017)

Actress[edit]

• Les dernières heures du millénaire (1990)
• Normal People Are Nothing Exceptional (1993)
• Souvenir (1996) – Cigarette Girl
• Elie annonce Semoun (2000) - Various characters
• Un grain de beauté (2003) - La sixième comedienne
• Pourquoi (pas) le Brésil 2004) - Elle-même
• X Femmes (2008) Episode: Enculées - La réalisatrice / The director
• Number One (2017) - Femme Club Olympe^[13]

Cinematographer[edit]

• Les surprises du ver à soie (1991)
• Lents que nous sommes (1992)
• La table d'émeraude (1992)
• Dans ta bouche (2010)

Camera and Electrical Department[edit]

• La Belle Noiseuse (1990), Assistant Camera^[13]

Awards[edit]

2018 Winner – Best Director Prize – French Association of Series Critics: Aurore (2017)^[17]

Further reading[edit]

1. Day, James T. Violence in French and Francophone Literature and Film Amsterdam ;: Rodopi, 2008.
2. de Blois, Marco. "L’électidiogramme des émotions / En avoir (ou pas) de Laetitia Masson". 24 images no. 83-84 (1996): 80–80.
3. Dobson, Julia. Negotiating the auteur: Dominique Cabrera, Noémie Lvovsky, Laetitia Masson and Marion Vernoux ;: Manchester University Press, 2012.
4. Euvrard, Janine. "50 ans de cinéma fraçais au féminin". 24 images no. 82 (1996): 17–17.
5. Higbee, Will and Sarah Leahy. Studies in French Cinema: UK Perspectives, 1985-2010;: Intellect Books, 2011.
6. Hottell, Ruth A. and Janis L. Pallister. Noteworthy Francophone Women Directors: A Sequel;: Lexington Books, 2011.
7. Ince, Kate. The Body and the Screen: Female Subjectivities in Contemporary Women's Cinema;: Bloomsbury, 2017.
8. McFadden, Cybelle H. Gendered Frames, Embodied Cameras: Varda, Akerman, Cabrera, Calle, and Maïwenn ;: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Laetitia Masson.

• Laetitia Masson at IMDb