Claude Zidi

Claude Zidi (born 25 July 1934) is a French film director and screenwriter. From 1971, he became known as a director of comedies, the majority of which were box-office hits in France. He was one of France's most commercially successful directors between the 1970s and the 1990s. In 1985, he won the César Award for Best Director for his film My New Partner (Les Ripoux).

Claude Raymond Djemil Zidi was born in Paris to a father of Algerian descent and a French mother. He graduated from the École nationale de photographie et cinématographie. Following his studies, he was drafted to the Algerian War, during which he worked in the French Armed Forces' audiovisual service.

After returning to civilian life, he began his career in the film industry as a cinematographer and a cameraman. The directors he worked with include Jacques Demy (Bay of Angels, 1963) and Claude Chabrol (Line of Demarcation, 1966). In 1970, Zidi worked as a cameraman on La Grande Java, the first film starring the comedy team Les Charlots (known in the English-speaking world as The Crazy Boys).

He befriended the group of actors, to whom he submitted a synopsis for what would become their next film, Les Bidasses en folie (1971). Les Charlots specifically requested that Zidi be the director of that picture. Les Bidasses en folie was an immense and unexpected box-office success, turning Les Charlots into France's new comedy stars. Zidi directed three more films with Les Charlots, produced by Christian Fechner and Claude Berri, which were also commercial hits: Les Fous du stade (1972), Le Grand Bazar (1973) and Les Bidasses s'en vont en guerre (1974), the latter being a sequel to their first film together.

Born 1934-07-25 in Paris, France.

On ThumbScore, Claude Zidi appears in 5 films with an average audience score of 84.4%, most frequently in the Comedy genre.

Sources: Wikipedia, TMDB