Léonce Perret

Director

“The artistic, economic, scientific and social ambitions of the film industry are so strong that its potential is limitless. It should be one of our most important domestic industries. But to get French film back on top, a place it never should have lost, and to assure its global expansion, the domestic film industry has to have a global vision in its subject matter, artisanship and casting.”

Biography

Léonce Perret (May 13, 1880 – August 14, 1935) was a prolific and innovative French film actor, director and producer. He also worked as a stage actor and director. Often described as avant-garde for his unorthodox directing methods, Léonce Perret introduced innovative camera, lighting and film scoring techniques to French cinema.

Léonce Perret began his career as a relatively undistinguished stage actor. He was recruited to the film industry by the Gaumont Film Company. His numerous short films gained significant accolade in French cinematography. Until his emigration to the United States in 1917, he was a fixture of the Gaumont Film Company. On American soil, he produced several popular films, the most notable being Lest We Forget (N’oublions jamais) in 1918.

After returning to France, he directed the successful Koenigsmark in 1923. His film Madame Sans-Gêne (1925), starring Gloria Swanson, was the first joint Franco-American film production. In addition, Léonce Perret… read more