Bodard, Mag (1916–)

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Bodard, Mag (1916–)

Italian-French film producer. Name variations: Margherita Perato. Born Margherita Perato, Jan 3, 1916, in Turin, Italy; dau. of winegrowers; attended Institution Mainterion in Paris, France; m. Lucian Bodard (journalist, div. after 25 years).

While husband was posted in Vietnam (1948–55), wrote articles about everyday life in Saigon for France-Soir and Elle, which were later published as C'est Aussi Comme Ca (It's Also Like That) to great success; co-produced Jonathan Demy's Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, 1962), which won the top prize at Cannes Film Festival (1964) and was nominated for Academy Award for Best Foreign Film; her next movie, Le Bonheur (Happiness), directed by Agnes Varda, won a special jury prize at Berlin Film Festival (1965); working with several top French directors, produced films like Jean-Luc Godard's La Chinoise (The Chinese Girl), Robert Bresson's Mouchette, and Jacques Doniol Valcroze's Le Viol (A Question of Rape); also produced for tv; was one of the few independent women producers of her day, as well as one of the most prolific.

See also Women in World History.