Serge Silberman (1 May 1917 – 22 July 2003) was a French film producer known for his collaborations with several major European and Japanese filmmakers, including Luis Buñuel, Jess Franco, Akira Kurosawa, Jean-Pierre Melville, René Clément, Jacques Becker, and Nagisa Oshima.
Early life Silberman was born in Łódź, then a part of the Regency Kingdom of Poland, to a Jewish family.
During World War II, Silberman survived Nazi concentration camps and eventually settled in Paris.
Career One of his first works as a film producer was Jean-Pierre Melville's 1955 film Bob the Gambler, a precursor to the French New Wave movement.
Silberman's most notable collaborations were with the surrealist film director Luis Buñuel. The pair, along with screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière, who Silberman introduced to Buñuel, worked together on a number of films, starting with the 1964 film Diary of a Chambermaid. Silberman produced most of Buñuel's late films, including the Academy Award winner The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie in 1972 and the director's last film That Obscure Object of Desire in 1977.
Silberman founded his own production company, Greenwich Film Productions, in 1966. The company was responsible for the production of over 15 films. In 1981, Silberman produced his most financially successful film, Jean-Jacques Beineix's Diva. The film was not well received in the country of its origin, France, but became a box-office hit abroad. The money gained from the movie enabled Silberman to provide funding for Akira Kurosawa's ambitious 1985 film Ran, which at the time of its making was the most expensive Japanese film ever.
Silberman was awarded an honorary César Award in 1988.
Death He died in Paris in 2003 at the age of 86.
Selected filmography YearTitleDirector1956Bob le flambeurJean-Pierre Melville1958Le désert de PigalleLéo Joannon1960Le TrouJacques Becker1961The Nina B. AffairRobert Siodmak1962Bird of ParadiseMarcel Camus1963ShéhérazadePierre Gaspard-Huit1964GibraltarDiary of a ChambermaidLuis Buñuel1966GaliaGeorges LautnerChartres sur tableJesús Franco1967The Diabolical Dr. ZLe grand biduleRaoul André1968Farewell, FriendJean Vautrin1968Love in the NightMarcel Camus1969The Milky WayLuis Buñuel1970Rider on the RainRené Clément1972The Discreet Charm of the BourgeoisieLuis BuñuelAnd Hope to DieRené Clément1974The Phantom of LibertyLuis Buñuel1976Les mal partiesSébastien JaprisotLa fille d'ameriqueDavid Newman (screenwriter)1977That Obscure Object of DesireLuis Buñuel1978Sophie et le CapitaineLiliane de Kermadec1981DivaJean-Jacques Beineix1983ExposedJames Toback1985A.K.Chris MarkerRanAkira Kurosawa1986Nagisa Oshima1988Hemingway (miniseries)Bernhard Sinkel1991Anna KaramazoffRustam Khamdamov1991La thunePhillippe Galland1997Les paradoxes de BuñuelJorge Amat
References
External links
Serge Silberman at Allmovie Biography at fipresci.org by Ronald Bergan, originally appeared in The Guardian