Luc Besson

Luc Besson (b. 1959, Paris) made a name for himself at the beginning of the 1980s as one of a new breed of filmmakers influenced by a postmodern esthetic. After the sci-fi parable The Last Battle (Le dernier combat, 1982) and the crime romance Subway (1985), he shot the cult picture The Big Blue (Le grand bleu, 1988), reflecting his lifelong passion for diving. Then came the action thriller La Femme Nikita (1990), the poetic underwater documentary Atlantis (1991), and the nontraditional thriller – the purported pinnacle of his directing career – Léon: The Professional (1994). He earned worldwide success with the sci-fi flick The Fifth Element (1997), the historical drama Joan of Arc (1999), and Angel-A (2005; Horizons, KVIFF 41). In the new millennium Besson shot three family films involving ten-year-old Arthur, as well as the adventure fantasy Adèle and the Secret of the Mummy (2010), the biopic The Lady (2011), the crime comedy The Family (2013), and the action sci-fi movie Lucy (2014).

Source: Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2016