Humbert Jean Rene Balsan was a French film producer and chairman of the European Film Academy.
12 Facts About Humbert Balsan
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Humbert Balsan was known for securing financing and distribution for diverse and often challenging films.
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In February 2005, Balsan was found dead in the offices of his production company, Ognon Pictures, in Paris.
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Humbert Balsan was known to have suffered from depression, and killed himself by hanging.
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Humbert Balsan received a Jesuit education in Amiens and later studied economics in Paris.
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Humbert Balsan assisted Bresson on The Devil, Probably in 1976 and lensed a documentary portrait of French music teacher Nadia Boulanger the following year.
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Humbert Balsan became a producer in 1978 with the filming of Pierre Kast's Le Soleil en Face.
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Humbert Balsan financed Rouan's Post Coitum, Animal Triste on the stipulation that the director, who like Balsan began her film career in front of the camera, play the film's lead role.
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Humbert Balsan came to be known as a champion of Arab cinema.
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Humbert Balsan produced Elia Suleiman's Divine Intervention, which in 2002 became the first Palestinian film to play at the Cannes Film Festival.
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Humbert Balsan presented The Gate of Sun, his second film with Yousry Nasrallah, who adapted the Elias Khoury novel.
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However, the results of Humbert Balsan's efforts did not always please everyone.