Frédéric Mitterrand

"You don't become a director of Villa Medici to benefit from a status, albeit a very prestigious one, but to carry out an exhilarating and complex job that requires great open-mindedness and a sense of proportion in the face of delicate balances, devoting all your time, thought and energy to it. This is self-evident, but perhaps worth remembering." Frédéric Mitterrand, born August 21, 1947 in Paris, is a writer, film producer/director, TV show host and organizer of cultural events. Son of engineer Robert Mitterrand, he is the nephew of François Mitterrand (President of the French Republic from 1981 to 1995) and Jacques Mitterrand (Air Force General). Frédéric Mitterrand attended the Lycée Janson de Sailly. He holds a degree in history and geography from the University of Nanterre and is a graduate of the Institut d'études politiques de Paris. From 1968 to 1971, he taught history, geography and economics at the Ecole Active Bilingue de Paris. A passionate cinephile, Frédéric Mitterrand began his career as a cinema manager. From 1971 to 1986, he managed the Olympic Palace, Entrepôt and Olympic-Entrepôt arthouse cinemas, before embarking on a new career as a producer, director and television host. He has produced numerous cinephile programs and documentary series on the great destinies of the 20th century. His credits include Etoiles et toiles (1981-86), Ciné-Fêtes (1984), Acteur Studio (1986-87), Permission de minuit (1987-88), Destins (1987-88), Du côté de chez Fred (1988-91), Etoile Palace (1990), C'est votre vie (1993-94), Les Amants du siècle (1993-94), Légendes du siècle (1996-97), Les Aigles foudroyés (1997), Cercle des arts (1997-98), Mémoires d'exil (1999), Hymne à la voix (1999), Plaisirs de France (2001), 24 heures en direct de (2002). He has a passion for great historical figures, and in particular crowned heads, becoming one of the regular commentators on royal ceremonies on the small screen for several years. From 1997 to 2006, he hosted a program devoted to literature on Europe 1, and, from 2002 to 2006, the Ça me dit talk show on France-Culture. Appointed Chairman of the Commission de l'avance sur recettes du cinéma français by Culture Minister Catherine Tasca in 2000, Frédéric Mitterrand was also Deputy Director General in charge of programming at TV5 from 2003 to 2005. He then became host of the program Ça s'est passé comme ça on Pink TV. As a filmmaker, Frédéric Mitterrand has directed Lettres d'amour en Somalie (1981), Les Lumières de Lausanne (1982), Paris vu par, vingt ans après (1984), Rapho, histoire d'une famille (1987), Jazz (1988), Madame Butterfly (1995), Fairouz (1998), Tunis chante et danse (2002), Je suis la Folle de Brejnev (2001) and La délivrance de Tolstoï (2003). His books include Lettres d'amour en Somalie (1982), Tous désirs confondus (1988), Destins d'étoiles (t.I, 1991, t.II and III, 1992), Les Années de Gaulle (1995), Les Aigles foudroyés (1997), Mémoires d'exil (1999), Un jour dans le siècle (2000), La Mauvaise vie (2005) and Le Festival de Cannes (2006), as well as a monthly column in Télé-Poche and Têtu magazines.







Frédéric Mitterrand has also held various positions, including General Commissioner for the Tunisian Season in France (1996), the Year of Morocco (1999) and the Czech Season (2002). From 1998 to 2000, he chaired the Fonds Sud Commission at the Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC), and from 2001 to 2003, the Commission d'avance sur recette. In June 2008, he was appointed director of the Villa Medici in Rome by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, thus becoming France's cultural ambassador abroad. Among his honors and awards, Frédéric Mitterrand received the Prix Jean-Louis Bory 1982 for Lettres d'amour en Somalie, the Prix du Festival de Nyons 1987, the 7 d'or 1989 for best debate host, the 7 d'or 1990 for best entertainment program for Carte blanche à Frédéric Mitterrand, the Trophée La Lucarne 1990 from the Association des journalistes de la presse hebdomadaire de télévision, the Prix des Maisons de la presse 1997 for Les Aigles foudroyés, the Prix Oscar Wilde 2000 for Un jour dans le siècle, the Prix Roland Dorgelès 2003 and the Prix Vaudeville 2005 for his autobiographical story La Mauvaise vie. Jacques Chirac, President of the French Republic, presented him with the insignia of Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur. He is also Officier de l'Ordre national du Mérite and Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et Lettres. On June 23, 2009, he became Minister of Culture and Communication.

2008-2009