The Minister of Culture, Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, learned with emotion of the passing of Alan Parker, a British director with many awards.
His films have left their mark on audiences and critics, both for the diversity of the themes explored and for his attention to the originality of the music that remains inseparable from his creativity and talent.
In Midnight Express, released in 1978, Alan Parker had boldly depicted the Turkish prison world, written by Oliver Stone. The film, which had a worldwide impact and which will remain in our memories both by the dramatic intensity of the images and by the soundtrack of Giorgio Moroder, was awarded two Oscars, six Golden Globes and four Bafta.
Eclectic, committed, sometimes provocative, he was able to bring together Mickey Rourke and Robert De Niro in Angel Heart and stage Madonna in Evita. He was also committed to civil rights and fundamental freedoms as in Mississipi Burning, directed by Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe, in a film that still resonates today.
In 1985, he won the Grand Jury Prize of the Cannes Film Festival for his film Birdy.
The Minister of Culture salutes the memory of a director with many talents and sends her condolences to his family and loved ones.