Emmanuel Bourdieu

Emmanuel Bourdieu (born 6 April 1965 in Paris) is a French writer, playwright, film director and philosopher. He is the youngest son of Marie Claire Brizard and sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. While a student at Lycée Henri-IV, he met Denis Podalydès who belonged to the drama club of Lycée Fénelon.

An alumnus of the École Normale Supérieure (Ulm), he earned a PhD in philosophy. He taught philosophy courses at the University of Bordeaux III and assistant in linguistics at the University of Paris VII. He participated in Cerisy conference on "American Philosophy."

During his studies, he met Jeanne Balibar and Arnaud Desplechin, with whom, together with Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Devos, Denis and Bruno Podalydès, he created the group of young filmmakers and intellectuals called 'Rive Gauche'.

Emmanuel Bourdieu began his writing career in the theatre with the play Tout mon possible (All I Can) and Je crois (I Believe), put on in 1998 by Denis Podalydès. He then wrote for film with Arnaud Desplechin (My Sex Life... or How I Got into an Argument, Esther Kahn, A Christmas Tale), Nicole Garcia (Vendôme) and Catherine Corsini (The New Eve).

He started directing in 1998 with a short film called Venise (Venice), followed by Candidature (Candidacy) for which he won the Prix Jean Vigo (2001) and the César Award for Best Short Film (2003).

In his first feature film, released simultaneously in cinemas under the title Vert Paradis (Green Paradise) and broadcast on Arte as Les Cadets de Gascogne. It is based on the sociological work of his father in The Bachelors' Ball: The Crisis of Peasant Society in Béarn.

In 2006, Les Amitiés maléfiques (Poison Friends) received the Grand Prix of the Critics at Cannes Film Festival.