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YEREVAN, OCTOBER 12, ARMENPRESS. Works by a well-known French-Armenian director Henri Verneuil within the category of commercial films have been founding their place in the art world for many years. Due to the festival “Lyumier” to take place in Lyon, the French audience will have an opportunity to watch a number of films by Henri Verneuil already considered as classical. As reports Armenpress, citing Nouvelles d’Armenie, black-and-white films of 1950-1960 by Henri Verneuil are included in the list of the films to be shown, which once caused great changes in the French cinema. During that period the prominent French-Armenian director cooperated with such famous actors, as Marcel Emmen, Henry Truaya, Michelle Odiare with who Verneuil wrote the scripts of his 3 most famous films.
The festival to be held in Lyon will start on October 14 with the film "Winter scenery". It will be shown in «Halle Tony Garnier» .
Henri Verneuil was bornAshod Malakianto Armenianparents in Rodosto, East Thrace, Turkey. When Ashod was a little child his family fled toMarseille in France,to escape persecution after the Armenian Genocide.He later recounted his childhood experience in the novelMayrig, which he dedicated to his mother and made into a 1991 filmwith the same name, which was followed by a sequel, 588 Rue Paradis, the following year.
Henri Verneuil entered the Ecole Nationale d'Arts et Metiersin Aix-en-Provence in 1942. After graduation, he worked as a journalist, then became editor of Horizon Armenian magazine.
In 1947 Henri Verneuil managed to convince the established European film actorFernandelto appear in his first filmLater he also directed other movie stars includingJean Gabin, Yves Montand, Alain Delon, Lino Ventura(all together acting for him in " Le clan des siciliens" in 1969).
After the American experience (he was called the "most American of French directors"), in 1969 Verneuil "found" France. He was awarded aCésarin 1996 and he was elected a member of the Academy of Fine Arts in 2000.
He died at Bagnoletin 2002.
The opening of the seventh annual Golden Apricot International Film Festival in Yerevanpaid tribute to Henri Verneuil. His son, television director Patrick Malakian, who reclaimed the name of his historical ancestors, received the posthumous award, the Parajanov'sThaler, for his father’s contribution to cinema.