Albert Lamorisse


Albert Lamorisse was a French filmmaker, film producer, and writer of award-winning short films which he began making in the late 1940s. He also invented the strategic board game Risk in 1957.

Life

Lamorisse was born in Paris, France. He first came into prominence – just after Bim – for directing and producing White Mane, an award-winning short film that tells a fable of how a young boy befriends an untamable wild white stallion in the marshes of Camargue.
Lamorisse's best known work is the short film The Red Balloon, which earned him the Palme d'Or Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, and an Oscar for writing the Best Original Screenplay in 1956.
Lamorisse also wrote, directed and produced the well-regarded films Stowaway in the Sky and Circus Angel, as well as the documentaries Versailles and Paris Jamais Vu. In addition to films, he created the popular strategy board game Risk in 1957. In the mid-sixties Lamorisse shot parts of The Prospect of Iceland, a documentary about Iceland, which was made by Henry Sandoz and commissioned by NATO.
Lamorisse died in a helicopter crash while filming the documentary Le Vent des amoureux, during a helicopter-tour of Iran in 1970. The helicopter was left where it crashed as a memorial to the filmmaker, and was still visible as of 2012. His son and widow completed the film, based on his production notes, and released it eight years later. It was nominated for a posthumous Oscar for best documentary. The title The Lover's Wind is translated into Bad-e Saba in Persian. A saba wind is a gentle wind that blows from the northeast, symbolizing the whispers of lovers.
Lamorisse and his wife had three children: a son named Pascal and two daughters named Sabine and Fanny. Pascal and Sabine were featured in The Red Balloon.

Filmography

Short films
Feature films
Documentaries
Wins
Nominations