Alexandre Mnouchkine

In addition to being an acclaimed movie producer, Alexandre Mnouchkine was also interested in the business side of film-making, and created his own film company. Born in Russia, Mnouchkine would go on to produce over 50 films during his long career, including "L'aigle à deux têtes" (1948), "Fanfan la Tulipe" (1952), "Les gauloises bleues" (1968), and "The Name of the Rose" (1986). Mnouchkine tended to align himself with certain directors, namely Claude Lelouch and Philippe de Broca, both of whom he worked with on countless motion pictures. And in 1945, Mnouchkine created his own film company, Ariane Films, named after his daughter, stage director Ariane Mnouchkine. He would receive a few awards during his lifetime, including a César Award in 1982 and a Gemini Award nomination in 1990 (for his work on "La révolution française"), and served as a jury member at the 1986 Cannes Film Festival. Mnouchkine continued to work on films right up until his death, on April 3, 1993, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.