Michel Hazanavicius
(1967 - )
Michel Hazanvicius is a Jewish French film director and screenwriter most famous for his work on the 2012 Ocsar Best Picture winner, The Artist.
Hazanavicius (born March 29, 1967) was born in Paris, France years after his parents and grandparents, from Poland and Lithuania, settled in the French countryside to escape the Nazi occupation. Hazanavicius attended art school and moved up to directing commercials and small television projects in the late 1980's.
In 1993, Michel made his first full-length film, the made-for-television movie titled La Classe américaine which was made entirely of Warner Brothers films dubbed into French. Six years later, in 1999, he wrote and directed his first feature film, Mes Amis, which featured his brother Serge.
In 2011, Hazanavicius received international acclaim with the release of his black-and-white silent romantic comedy called The Artist and starring his wife and French actor Jean Dujardin. In January 2012, The Artist was nominated for three Academy Awards and Hazanavicius won the Oscar for Best Director. The movie won 25 other awards at various international film festivals and award shows.
Hazanavicius is currently married to Berenice Bejo, with whom he has two children, Lucien and Gloria. He also has two children from a separate relationship.
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