Olivier Assayas: From Painting to Cinema, a Self-Portrait

In a richly illustrated self-portrait, filmmaker Olivier Assayas (b. 1955) reflects on his transition from painting to cinema, a move he says he never fully abandoned. He confesses, "I can't say I gave up painting without looking back; I looked back constantly, questioning my practice of cinema from a painter's perspective." The feature includes his early works and those of his grandfather, Tibor Polya (1886-1937), a talented Hungarian painter whose path his mother hoped Assayas would follow. The article, published by Le Journal des Arts, offers insight into Assayas's artistic lineage and the enduring influence of painting on his cinematic vision.