Éric Besnard

Writer/director Eric Besnard received his education at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris. After graduating, he contributed to Michel Leburn's film guide, "The Golden Book of Cinema" (1983-1984), but his foray into the world of filmmaking did not occur until 1994, when he wrote and directed the short comedy "Une belle âme." In 1999, he wrote and directed his first feature, "The Smile of the Clown," a slapstick thriller that showed hints of the style and themes he would become known for later. Then came a decade-long hiatus in his fledgling directorial career. He spent this time working as a screenwriter, churning out scripts for projects such as "Le convoyeur," a 2004 action film directed by Nicolas Boukhrief, and "L'antidote," a 2005 comedy directed by Vincent De Brus. 2008 marked the beginning of a highly productive period for Besnard. This was the year he wrote and directed the comedic thriller "Ca$h," starring Jean Reno and Jean Dujardin, and it was also when he wrote the script for Mathieu Kassovitz's "Babylon A.D.," a science-fiction blockbuster starring Vin Diesel, Michelle Yeoh, and Gérard Depardieu. Besnard returned to directing in 2010 with "In Gold We Trust," an adventure film starring Clovis Cornillac which bears his trademark mixture of action and humor.