Julien Paolini (born 20 June 1986) is a French-Italian film director and screenwriter.[1] In 2018, he made his feature directorial debut with Amare amaro. His second feature, Karmapolice, was released in 2023.

Julien Paolini
Paolini at the 2019 Taormina Film Fest
Born (1986-06-20) 20 June 1986 (age 38)
Florence, Italy
Occupations
  • Film director
  • screenwriter
Years active2009–present

Early life

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Paolini was born on 20 June 1986 in Florence, Italy,[2] to a Sicilian father and a French mother.[3] He moved to Colombes, a northwestern suburb of Paris.[2] He began writing at a very young age, starting with short stories.[4]

Career

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Between 2008 and 2015, he wrote and directed a series of short films shot in France, Africa and the United States.[5] He directed actors such as Shiloh Fernandez,[6] Hugo Becker, Bernie Bonvoisin and Christophe Salengro. The films received several awards[7] and was screened at international festivals such as the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival,[8] Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou,[9] International Film Festival Rotterdam,[10] Montreal World Film Festival[11] and were purchased and broadcast by France Télévisions,[12] Canal+[13] and Orange Cinéma Séries.[14] In 2012, he screened his short film African Race at Les Pépites du Cinéma in La Courneuve, a festival sponsored by Michel Gondry.[15]

In October 2018, he presented his feature-length directorial debut Amare amaro in competition at the Saint-Jean-de-Luz International Film Festival.[16] Shot in Sicily,[17] the Italian-language film recounts the journey of a French baker who fights to bury his murdered brother in a Sicilian village which forbids him from doing so.[18] In the film, he directed actors Syrus Shahidi, Tony Sperandeo and Celeste Casciaro. The drama is a reimagining of the tragedy of Antigone in the form of a nocturnal crime thriller with elements reminiscent of Western films.[19] Télérama critic Pierre Murat hailed the film as a great success.[18] L'Express compared it to the gangster films of Martin Scorsese.[20] Amare amaro won the Grand Prix at the Festival Polar de Cognac.[21] In July 2019, it was screened as an international premiere at the 65th Taormina Film Fest, where Paolini said, "As an Italian emigrant in France who grew up between the two countries, my films all tell the story of modern multi-identity".[17][22]

His second feature film, Karmapolice, was written in collaboration with Manolis Mavropoulos and Syrus Shahidi.[23] Shot in French, it stars Shahidi as a policeman consumed by guilt who works in the Château Rouge neighbourhood of Paris when his neighbor is allegedly kidnapped by a slumlord. Alexis Manenti and Karidja Touré star in the supporting roles.[24] Paolini drew inspiration from French comics, including those by Charles Burns, Lewis Trondheim, Joann Sfar and Emmanuel Larcenet.[25] The film premiered in competition at the Festival Polar de Cognac in October 2023, where it earned Paolini his second Grand Prix.[26] It was theatrically released in France on 17 July 2024.[27] Critics praised Karmapolice,[28][29][30][31] and saw it as "the legacy of a certain New York underground cinema, from early Scorsese to the Safdie brothers, via Lynch's Blue Velvet".[32] Cineuropa wrote that Paolini confirmed his "singularity" as a director.[33]

In October 2024, Julien served as a jury member for the Festival Polar de Cognac.[34]

Filmography

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Feature films

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Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes
2018 Amare amaro Yes Yes Yes Co-written with Samy Baaroun
Co-produced with Clément Lecomte, Angelo Laudisa, Syrus Shahidi
2023 Karmapolice Yes Yes Yes Co-written with Manolis Mavropoulos and Syrus Shahidi
Co-produced with Marie Etchegoyen, Syrus Shahidi, Yann Girard

Short films

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Year Title
2009 Réveil d'un mouton
2010 On braque pas les banques avec des fourchettes en plastique
2011 Tuer l'ennui
2012 African Race
2014 The Hitchiker (L'Autostoppeur)
2015 Bangs in My Chest

References

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  1. ^ Lemercier, Fabien (22 October 2021). "Julien Paolini • Director of The Raïs of Palermo". Cineuropa. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  2. ^ a b "A Pézenas, Julien Paolini dans la plus pure lignée des cinéastes italiens". Midi Libre (in French). 28 February 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  3. ^ Irjud, Anne (14 February 2020). "Cinéma : Syrus Shahidi, le héros de la série "Plan Coeur" est à l'affiche d'"Amare Amaro"". La Nouvelle République (in French). Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  4. ^ "Interview de Julien Paolini" (in French). Festival Ptit Clap. 6 May 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  5. ^ "Amare amaro" (in French). Festival International du Film de Saint-Jean-de-Luz. Archived from the original on 17 May 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  6. ^ "BANGS IN MY CHEST". Nolita.fr. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  7. ^ "Le Syndicat dans les festivals". Syndicat de la Critique de Cinéma (in French). Retrieved 6 January 2024.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ Besse, Caroline (4 February 2015). "A Clermont-Ferrand, un cycle de courts-métrages originaux autour de Boris Vian". Télérama. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  9. ^ "Films inscrits au FESPACO 2013". Archived from the original on 17 November 2019. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  10. ^ "Lesmateriaal African Race". International Film Festival Rotterdam (in Dutch). 25 September 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  11. ^ Mambu, Djia (29 September 2012). "36ème édition du Festival des Films du Monde - Montréal, Août/Septembre 2012". Africiné (in French). Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  12. ^ "Les courts métrages en fête sur Arte et France 3". L'Humanité. 20 December 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  13. ^ "Tuer l'ennui" (in French). Yukunkun Productions. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  14. ^ "Réveil d'un mouton". cinema-series.orange.fr (in French). Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  15. ^ Laïreche, Rachid. "«Là, j'ai mon fute qui tombe, ce n'est pas un effet de style»". Libération (in French). Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  16. ^ E. F. (1 October 2018). "Saint-Jean-de-Luz : le 5e Festival international du film s'ouvre ce lundi". Sud Ouest (in French). Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  17. ^ a b Giada (29 June 2019). "Amare Amaro: Palermo e provincia protagoniste al Taormina film fest". PalermoToday (in Italian). Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  18. ^ a b Murat, Pierre (22 February 2020). "Que demande-t-on aux premiers films ?". Télérama (in French). Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  19. ^ Forestier, François; Leherpeur, Xavier; Schaller, Nicolas (19 February 2020). "Le Cas Richard Jewell, Lettre à Franco, 10 jours sans maman... Les films à voir (ou pas) cette semaine". L'Obs (in French). Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  20. ^ Le Fur, Antoine (19 February 2020). "Les films à voir (ou pas) cette semaine". L'Express (in French). Archived from the original on 19 February 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  21. ^ Gibert, François (29 October 2018). "Festival du polar de Cognac : grand prix du long métrage cinéma pour "Amare Amaro"". France 3 Nouvelle-Aquitaine (in French). France Télévisions. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  22. ^ "A Taormina "Amare Amaro", l'intervista al regista Julien Paolini". la Repubblica (in Italian). Palermo. 6 July 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  23. ^ Lemercier, Fabien (1 April 2022). "Julien Paolini's Karmapolice enters into post-production". Cineuropa (in French). Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  24. ^ "FESTIVAL POLAR DE COGNAC". www.festival-polar-cognac.fr. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  25. ^ "Karmapolice Dossier de presse" (PDF). Unifrance. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  26. ^ "Polar le festival Cognac : les six « Grands Prix » dévoilés". Charente Libre (in French). 22 October 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  27. ^ "Les distributeurs peaufinent leurs line-ups". Boxoffice Pro (in French). 26 February 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  28. ^ "Karmapolice - Julien Paolini - critique". Avoir Alire - aVoir-aLire.com (in French). Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  29. ^ ""Karmapolice", de Julien Paolini : notre critique". www.telerama.fr (in French). 16 July 2024. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  30. ^ "« Karmapolice » : un thriller labyrinthique et envoûtant dans les rues de la Goutte-d'Or". Le Nouvel Obs (in French). 16 July 2024. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  31. ^ "Julien Paolini – « Karmapolice »". Culturopoing (in French). 8 July 2024. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  32. ^ Villard, Violette (28 November 2023). "Karmapolice de Julien Paolini : Angelo perdu in the red castle". LeMagduCine (in French). Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  33. ^ "Critique : Karmapolice". Cineuropa (in French). 15 July 2024. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  34. ^ Bizeray, Martin (21 October 2024). "Meilleur film, meilleur roman... Découvrez le palmarès du Festival polar Cognac 2024". actu.fr (in French). Retrieved 23 October 2024.
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