Marianne Denicourt is a French actress, director and screenwriter who has made a name for herself as an auteur filmmaker and is committed to the defence of forgotten memories, particularly through documentaries. Born in Paris in 1966, she grew up in an artistic environment, with an actress mother and a documentary filmmaker father. She trained in theatre at the Ecole des Amandiers in Nanterre, under the direction of Patrice Chéreau, where she developed a taste for demanding drama and directing.

She began her film career in the 1980s, first as an extra in Robert Bresson’s L’Argent, before being discovered by Jacques Doillon in L’Amoureuse. She went on to play a string of outstanding roles with directors such as Jacques Rivette (La Belle Noiseuse, Haut, Bas, Fragile), Benoît Jacquot (Sade) and Thomas Lilti (Hippocrate, Médecin de campagne), earning her several César nominations.

Fascinated by buried stories and voices that are too little heard, she has made a number of committed documentaries about the status of women and forgotten conflicts, notably in Afghanistan, with Une maison à Kaboul and Nassima, une vie confisquée. These films bear witness to her humanitarian commitment and her concern to pass on stories that are often ignored by the media.

Marianne Denicourt reflects on the limits of artistic creation based on reality. She fights for respect for intimacy and individual memory in contemporary art. Today she is a complete and committed artist, driven by a constant desire to make silences resonate, whether they be political, intimate or artistic.