This post first appeared on The Shmooze blog at the Forward.
Michel Hazanavicius
French President Nicolas Sarkozy publicly congratulated actor Jean Dujardin and director Michel Hazanavicius on winning the Oscars for best actor and best director, respectively. The president proudly stated that these awards, along with three others (including best picture) for “The Artist” “demonstrate the exceptional vitality of our cinema and the success of our policy of supporting the excellence of this great French industry.”
The Jewish community in France is likely doubly excited about Hazanavicius’s win, as he is the son and grandson of French Jews who survived the German occupation of France by hiding in the country’s hillsides, according to The Algemeiner. The director’s family is originally Lithuanian, with his grandparents having settled in France in the 1920s.
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© 2012 Renee Ghert-Zand. All rights reserved.
Tags: Academy Awards, French Jews, Jean Dujardin, Michel Hazanavicius, Nicolas Sarkozy, Oscars, The Artist
