Serreau, Coline

(October 29, 1947, Paris, France-)

   The daughter of stage director and actor Jean-Marie Serreau (1915-1973) and playwright, adapter, and translator Geneviève Serreau (1915-1981), she stud­ied letters and musicology before attending Andréas Voutsinas's acting classes and enrolling in the Centre de la Rue Blanche. Then she joined the Café de la Gare (the first French café theater) and played in a few films (1971 Un peu, beaucoup, passionnément, Robert Enrico; La Part des Lions / L'ultima rapina a Parigi, Jean Larriaga, France / Italy; 1973 Max l'Indien, short, Tony Gatlif; 1974 Dada au Cœur, Claude Accursi; L'Atelier, documentary, medium-length, Patrick de Mervelec; 1975 Sept Morts sur Ordonnance / Qartett bestial / Siete muertos por pre-scripcion facultativa, Jacques Rouffio, France / West Germany / Spain; 1980 Le Fou de Mai, Philippe Defrance) and TV series (1972 Le Pont dormant, 25 X 13', Fernand Marzelli; 1974 La Folie des Bêtes, 30 X 13'; Fernand Mazelli). In 1973, she wrote the screenplay for and por­trayed the female leading role in Jean-Louis Bertucelli's On s'est trompé d'Histoire d'Amour. A film director since 1977, she also authored two plays (1988 Le Théâtre de Verdure; 1993-1995 Quisaitout et Grobeta) directed by her late husband, Swiss stage director Benno Besson (1922-2006). Leonard Nimoy (1987 Three Men and a Baby) and Emile Ardolino (1990 Three Men and a Lit­tle Lady) filmed remakes of her successful movie Trois Hommes et un Couffin.

 Filmography

1977 ◘ Mais qu'est-ce qu'elles veulent? (documentary)

        ◘ Pourquoi pas! / UK and USA: Why Not! (also screenwriter, dialogist)

1979 ◘ Grand-Mère de l'Islam (documentary)

1982 ◘ Qu'est-ce qu'on attend pour être heureux! (also screenwriter, dialogist)

1985 ◘ 3 Hommes et un Couffin / UK and USA: Three Men and a Cradle (also screenwriter, dialogist)

1989 ◘ Romuald et Juliette / USA: Mama, There's a Man in Your Bed (also screenwriter, dialogist)

        ◘ Contre l'Oubli / Ecrire contre l'Oubli / Against Oblivion / Lest We Forget (documentary; segment "Pour Vera Chirwa, Malawi")

        ◘ La Crise / La crisi / USA: Crisis-Go-'Round / The

        ◘ Crisis (also screenwriter, dialogist; France / Italy)

1996 ◘ La Belle Verte (also screenwriter, dialogist)

2001 ◘ Chaos (also screenwriter, dialogist)

2003 ◘ 18 Ans après (also screenwriter, dialogist)

2005 ◘ Saint-Jacques . . . La Mecque (also screenwriter, dialogist)

2007 ◘ Dix Films pour en parler (short)