Jean-Jacques Beineix, the director of "37°2 in the morning", is dead

Europe 1 with AFP 7:25 p.m., January 14, 2022

Jean-Jacques Beineix, author of the cult film "37°2 in the morning", died Thursday at the age of 75, his brother Jean-Claude, as well as the director's wife and daughter, told AFP on Friday. .

The one who made himself known to the public thanks to "Diva" (1981) and "37°2 le matin" (1986), a story of love and madness based on the novel of the same title by Philippe Djian, with Jean-Hugues Anglade and Béatrice Dalle, died at their Parisian home following a long illness.

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

Nominated nine times for the Césars, "37°2 in the morning" was nominated for the Oscar for best foreign film and revealed Béatrice Dalle, who played the character of Betty.

Born in Paris, Jean-Jacques Beineix began medical studies before preparing for the prestigious Idhec film school (now Femis) which he just missed.

>> Find Europe evening in replay and podcast here

Advertising projects 

His first projects lead him to advertising. In particular, he will produce the multi-broadcast anti-AIDS spot "He will not pass by me". After several projects, he decides to leave the industry. "It's good to put your talent at the service of causes" and advertising, "it was not causes", he will explain. After "37°2 in the morning" several films will follow, all failures, including "Roselyne and the lions". In 2001, after nine years of absence, he returned with "Mortel Transfert", a complete critical and commercial failure. He declares, moreover, that this film heavily indebted him.

This will be the last of his six feature films, followed by documentaries for television ("The children of Romania", "Place Clichy without complexes"...), under the banner of his production company, Cargos Films.

In 2016, he was president of the jury of the 29th Tokyo International Film Festival.