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Philippe Avril is a Producer and Music Editor

Philippe Avril

Philippe Avril
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Philippe Avril, né en 1954 à Paris, est un producteur de cinéma français.

Biography

Né en 1954 à Paris, Philippe Avril, est chercheur scientifique de formation, docteur-ingénieur en mécanique des fluides. Il s’installe à Strasbourg en 1974. De 1974 à 1981, il tient la rubrique cinéma du quotidien Le Nouvel Alsacien.

En 1979, grâce au soutien de Paul Vecchiali, il tourne et produit son premier long-métrage, Estrasburgo de Chile, avec des exilées politiques chiliennes à Strasbourg. De 1983 à 1988, il dirige un travail de recherches et de documentation sur la mémoire des incorporés de force alsaciens avec Gisèle Rapp-Meichler et Marie-Michèle Cattelain (Les Malgré-nous en mémoire). Ce travail aboutit d'une part sur une série d'émissions radio sur Radio France Alsace, une série de trois émissions de télévision sur la chaîne régionale; L’Alsace prise de guerre, et de l'autre sur un ouvrage et une exposition-vidéo intitulée : Avant l’oubli.

En 1989, Philippe Avril fonde à Strasbourg une entreprise de production de films doublée d'une agence de presse et produit alors des documentaires de création, essentiellement pour la télévision. En 1994, avec Les Films de l’Observatoire, il se focalise sur la coproduction internationale (documentaires, films de fiction) pour le cinéma, avec, dans un premier temps, des cinéastes d’Europe centrale et orientale : Dušan Hanák en Slovaquie, Petr Václav en République tchèque, Valdas Navasaitis en Lituanie, Bakhtiar Khudojnazarov au Tadjikistan. En 1997, en s’ouvrant sur l’Asie, il collabore avec Park Kwang-su et Jeon Soo-il en Corée du Sud, Aoyama Shinji, Suwa Nobohiro et Naomi Kawase au Japon, Garin Nugroho en Indonésie, Sabiha Sumar au Pakistan.

En 2002, il prend les rênes d'une nouvelle société indépendante, Unlimited, à Strasbourg et à Paris, dotée d'un actionnariat européen (France, Belgique, Luxembourg, Pays-Bas, Autriche et Allemagne). L’objectif est la production d’œuvres d’art et d’essai à une échelle internationale. Avec Francisco Villa-Lobos, Philippe Avril crée également en 2003 une structure associée, Les Films de l’Étranger; toujours active aujourd'hui.

Au cours de sa carrière, il travaille avec les réalisateurs et réalisatrices Vimukthi Jayasundara (Sri Lanka), Pedro Costa (Portugal), Cristian Mungiu (Roumanie), Hailé Gerima (Éthiopie), Malek Bensmaïl (Algérie), Murali Nair (Inde), Wang Bing (Chine), Peter Brosens et Jessica Woodworth (Belgique), Pepe Diokno (Philippines), Monika Borgmann et Lokman Slim (Liban), Licínio Azevedo (Mozambique), Katsuya Tomita (Japon), Natalia Garagiola (Argentine), Adina Pintilié (Roumanie) et Phuttiphong Aroonpheng (Thaïlande).

Coordinateur national du programme de formation EAVE (Entrepreneurs de l’Audiovisuel Européen) de 1977 à 2011, intervenant professionnel dans des séminaires et structures de formation en France et en Europe, il a enseigné au cours des années 2000 l’écriture documentaire et la production à l’Université de Strasbourg. En septembre 2014, il a créé avec Christophe Damour le Master 2 Pro de l'Université de Strasbourg Coproduction internationale d'œuvres cinématographiques et audiovisuelles dont il a été le responsable pédagogique pendant les deux premières années. À partir de septembre 2017, il a élaboré avec Benjamin Thomas, responsable des masters de la Faculté des Arts, une nouvelle formule sur deux ans de cette offre de formation à l'heure actuelle unique en Europe.

Best films

The Italian (2010)
(Music Editor)

Usually with

Source : Wikidata

Filmography of Philippe Avril (16 films)

Display filmography as list

Producer

Touch Me Not, 2h5
Directed by Adina Pintilie
Origin Roumanie
Genres Drama, Documentary
Actors Tómas Lemarquis, Laura Benson, Adina Pintilie, Irmena Chichikova
Roles Producer
Rating55% 2.799192.799192.799192.799192.79919
Dis-moi comment tu m'as aimée pour que je sache comment aimer. Une cinéaste et ses personnages s'aventurent ensemble dans une recherche personnelle sur l'intimité. À la frontière fluide entre réalité et fiction, le film suit les parcours émotionnels de Laura, Tómas et Christian, livrant une vision profondément empathique de leur vie. Cette soif d'intimité pourtant les effraient, mais ils travaillent à vaincre les vieux schémas, les mécanismes de défense et les tabous pour couper le cordon et enfin s’en libérer.
Manta Ray
Manta Ray (2018)
, 1h45
Origin Thailande
Genres Drama, Romance
Roles Producer
Rating67% 3.3896353.3896353.3896353.3896353.389635
En Thaïlande, près de la côte où des réfugiés rohingyas ont été retrouvés noyés, un jeune pêcheur à la chevelure blonde peroxydée qui vient d'être plaqué par sa femme découvre dans la mangrove un homme à moitié mort. Il le ramène chez lui et le soigne. Le rescapé reste muet. Le pêcheur lui donne comme prénom Thongchai en référence au célèbre chanteur Thongchai Bird Mac Intyre, lui apprend les bases de son métier et partage amicalement avec lui son quotidien.
The Fifth Season, 1h33
Directed by Peter Brosens, Jessica Woodworth
Genres Drama
Actors Aurélia Poirier, Sam Louwyck, Peter Van Den Begin
Roles Producer
Rating67% 3.390813.390813.390813.390813.39081
Une mystérieuse calamité frappe un village belge des Ardennes : le printemps refuse de venir. Le cycle de la nature est interrompu. Alice et Thomas, 2 adolescents du village, vont se battre pour donner un sens à leur vie dans un monde qui s'effondre autour d'eux.
The End of Silence
Directed by Roland Edzard
Origin France
Genres Drama, Thriller
Actors Thierry Frémont, Maia Morgenstern, Carlo Brandt, Marianne Basler, Alexis Michalik, Anna Mihalcea
Roles Producer
Rating55% 2.7748252.7748252.7748252.7748252.774825
Une dispute éclate dans une maison isolée dans les Vosges. Jean, le fils cadet de la famille, est jeté dehors. Il rejoint des chasseurs pour une battue et apprend à tuer. La nuit suivante, la voiture de sa mère est incendiée. On l'accuse. Jean disparaît alors dans la forêt...
The Ditch
The Ditch (2011)
, 1h49
Directed by Wang Bing (王兵)
Origin Chine
Genres Drama
Themes Political films
Roles Executive producer
Rating70% 3.535263.535263.535263.535263.53526
The background to the setting is Mao Zedong's disastrous Hundred Flowers Campaign from 1956–57, during which Chinese intellectuals were advised to contribute their opinions on national policy issues. During the campaign, thousands of citizens were branded "right-wing deviants" for their criticism of the Communist Party, were sentenced to forced labour. One such "deviant" in the film is a self-proclaimed party member since 1938. One professor says he has been imprisoned over semantics: saying he was detained for saying the phrase “dictatorship of the proletariat” was “too narrow” and suggesting it be replaced by “dictatorship of the people”.
China Is Still Far, 2h10
Directed by Malek Bensmaïl
Origin France
Genres Drama, Documentary
Themes Films about education
Roles Producer
Rating61% 3.0838653.0838653.0838653.0838653.083865
50 ans après l'assasinat d'un couple d'instituteurs français et d'un caïd algérien, marquant ainsi le début de la guerre d'indépendance en Algérie, le réalisateur Malek Bensmaïl se rend à Ghassira, un petit village des Aurès, pour filmer la vie des habitants d'aujourd'hui et des élèves d'une école primaire.
Teza
Teza (2008)
, 2h20
Directed by Hailé Gerima
Origin éthiopie
Genres Drama, Thriller
Themes Films set in Africa
Roles Producer
Rating70% 3.542123.542123.542123.542123.54212
Set in 1970s Ethiopia, Teza (Morning Dew) tells the story of a young Ethiopian as he returns from West Germany a postgraduate. Anberber comes back to a country at the height of the Cold War and under the Marxist regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam. Working in a health institution he witnesses a brutal murder and finds himself at odds with the revolutionary gangsters running the country. He is ordered by the regime to take up a post in East Germany and uses this opportunity to escape to the West until the Berlin Wall falls and Ethiopia's military regime is overthrown.
Colossal Youth, 2h35
Directed by Pedro Costa
Origin Portugal
Genres Drama
Themes Films about immigration, Political films
Roles Producer
Rating68% 3.448843.448843.448843.448843.44884
After the Portuguese government demolishes his slum and relocates him to a housing project on the outskirts of Lisbon, 75-year-old Cape Verde immigrant Ventura wanders between his new and old homes, reconnecting with people from his past.
Offset
Offset (2006)

Origin Roumanie
Genres Drama
Actors Alexandra Maria Lara Claudia Paolina, Felix Klare, Răzvan Vasilescu, Katharina Thalbach, Manfred Zapatka, Valentin Plătăreanu
Roles Producer
Rating59% 2.953332.953332.953332.953332.95333
The plot focuses on the lives of the soon to be married Stefan (Felix Klare), a German working in Romania for a wealthy and eccentric printing company owner, Nicu Iorga (Răzvan Vasilescu) and his soon-to-be bride Brindusa (Alexandra Maria Lara), who is Nicu's secretary. Life seems great for both of them, despite the eminent long affair that Nicu had with Brindusa. All the preparations are made for the wedding, Stefan's family arrives, and the son-to-be bride and groom buy their wedding attire. A newly arrived German (who was set to replace Stefan at the printing company due to a fight with Nicu) Peter Gross (Bruno Cathomas) is invited to the wedding after he becomes friends with both Stefan and Brindusa. Nicu, armed with a gun (and accompanied by several henchmen), crashes the wedding ceremony and threatens everyone present, including Stefan's father Ernst (Manfred Zapatka) and Brindusa's father Mr. Hergehelegiu. He even punches Peter in the nose, after which he shoots himself and is taken to the hospital. At the hospital, Brindusa tells Stefan that he should go to Germany to pursue a better life, revealing to him that she still has feelings for Nicu. Although it is not stated in the movie, it is assumed Nicu survives the gunshot. The film ends with an enraged Stefan asking Peter about his nose just outside the hospital, after which they go down the road.
The Forsaken Land, 1h47
Directed by Vimukthi Jayasundara
Origin France
Genres Drama, Romance
Actors Hemasiri Liyanage
Roles Producer
Rating60% 3.044353.044353.044353.044353.04435
Ni guerre ni paix, juste le souffle du vent Dieu est absent mais le soleil se lève encore
Silent Waters, 1h39
Directed by Sabiha Sumar
Origin Pakistan
Genres Drama, Musical
Themes Films about religion, Films about suicide, Films about Islam
Actors Kiron Kher, Shilpa Shukla, Aamir Ali Malik, Salman Shahid, Abid Ali
Roles Producer
Rating74% 3.7386753.7386753.7386753.7386753.738675
The story opens in 1979 in the village of Charkhi in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Ayesha is a middle-aged widow whose life is centred on her only son, the teenager Saleem, who is in love with Zubeida, a teenage village schoolgirl. Ayesha manages to support herself and her son with her late husband's pension and by giving lessons in the Qur'an to village girls. Generally well-liked and regarded, the only odd thing about Ayesha is that she refuses to go to the village well, having her neighbor's daughters draw water for her. Some villagers such as Amin, the postman, are troubled by the recent hanging of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto by the new military ruler, General Zia-ul-Haq, who has promised to enforce Islamic law and encourages Islamic missionary and political groups to spread Islamism across Pakistan. Two activists from an Islamist group come to the village and, supported by the village "Choudhary" (landlord), start spreading their message of Islamic zealotry and gain recruits to fight the then-impending Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The older men in the village react with disdain to their message of intolerance and puritanism, express cynicism at Zia's continual postponement of democratic elections and are angered when the activists accuse them of being un-Islamic and traitors. Although they struggle amongst the older village men, the activists soon gain a following amongst the village youth, including Saleem. With a mixture of cajoling and intimidation, the activists bring Saleem with them to a political meeting in Rawalpindi, where the speakers exhort their audience to commit themselves to jihad (religious war) for the creation of a true Islamic state in Pakistan. Drawn by their missionary zeal and call to serve Islam and Pakistan, Saleem, who wants to lead a more meaningful life than that of a simple village farmer, abandons Zubeida and grows estranged from his mother. Ayesha tries to discourage him from following the Islamists, but fails. Saleem participates in the construction of a wall to surround the girls school to "protect" them and enforcing a shutdown of village shops during namaaz (prayer) time, in line with Zia-ul-Haq's Islamisation. Both Ayesha and Zubeida are deeply alarmed at Saleem's transformation into an angry and hostile young man.
Eureka
Eureka (2000)
, 3h37
Directed by Shinji Aoyama
Origin Japon
Genres Drama
Actors Kōji Yakusho, Aoi Miyazaki, Sayuri Kokushō, Ken Mitsuishi, Yutaka Matsushige, Sansei Shiomi
Roles Producer
Rating76% 3.846593.846593.846593.846593.84659
Eureka is a drama set mainly in rural Kyushu, Japan, and is almost entirely shot in sepia tone. It tells the story of the lasting effects of a violent experience on three people, a teenage brother and sister, Naoki and Kozue Tamura and a bus driver, Makoto Sawai. These three are the sole survivors when the bus is hijacked by a deranged killer. The actual violent events which traumatise them are not shown in detail. The extent to which the three have been affected becomes apparent only slowly. Naoki and Kozue do not return to school, do not speak and become dissociated from their parents. Some time after the hijack, their mother abandons the family. Later their father is killed in a car crash. It is not clear whether his death is suicide. The two children continue to live alone in the family home. Meanwhile, Makoto is finding it impossible to carry on normal life and takes to the road, leaving his estranged wife living in the family home with his elderly father, elder brother, his wife and their daughter. After some time, Makoto returns home to find that his wife has left him. He cannot return to driving a bus and takes a job as a day-labourer with an old school-friend.
Luna Papa
Luna Papa (1999)
, 1h47
Directed by Bakhtiar Khudojnazarov
Origin German
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama
Themes Pregnancy films, Medical-themed films, Transport films, Films about automobiles, Films about disabilities, Road movies
Actors Tchoulpan Khamatova, Moritz Bleibtreu, Merab Ninidze, Ato Mukhamedshanov, Nikolai Fomenko, Dinmukhamet Akhimov
Roles Producer
Rating71% 3.5930153.5930153.5930153.5930153.593015
À Far-Khor (Фархор en cyrillique), petite ville imaginaire d'Asie centrale située sur la rive d'un lac, la voix off d'un fœtus, Khabibula, propose de raconter l'histoire de sa conception.

Sound

Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer
Directed by Joseph Cedar
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Comedy
Themes Political films
Actors Richard Gere, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Dan Stevens, Michael Sheen, Steve Buscemi, Josh Charles
Roles Sound Recordist
Rating60% 3.042123.042123.042123.042123.04212
Norman Oppenheimer's life dramatically changes after the young politician he befriended three years ago during his bad days, becomes a world-known leader.
Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer, 1h58
Directed by Joseph Cedar
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Comedy
Actors Richard Gere, Lior Ashkenazi, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Michael Sheen, Dan Stevens, Steve Buscemi
Roles Sound Recordist
Rating60% 3.042123.042123.042123.042123.04212
Un opérateur se lie d'amitié avec un politicien à un moment compliqué de sa vie, alors qu'il ressent une grande solitude, mais les choses prennent vite une tournure dramatique lorsque son nouvel ami devient une personnalité influente.