Isabelle Huppert becomes first woman to lead the Cinémathèque française
The 73-year-old actress succeeds Costa-Gavras at the helm of the Paris institution, taking on a three-year mandate to safeguard film heritage.
A historic appointment
Isabelle Huppert was elected president of the Cinémathèque française on Thursday, 2 July 2026, the institution announced. She is the first woman to hold the post since the archive's founding in 1936. The board of directors chose her for a three-year term that runs until 2029. She replaces the Franco-Greek filmmaker Konstantinos Costa-Gavras, 93, who had led the Cinémathèque since 2007.
Huppert's career
Huppert is one of France's most prolific actresses, with more than 150 film and television credits. She has won two César awards, for "La Cérémonie" in 1996 and "Elle" in 2017, and enjoys a rare international profile for a French performer. Her directors include Claude Chabrol, Maurice Pialat, Michael Haneke, Michael Cimino, Otto Preminger, Marco Bellocchio, Marco Ferreri, Andrzej Wajda and Hong Sang-soo.
The Cinémathèque's mission and challenges
The Cinémathèque française, based in the Bercy district of Paris, holds 50,000 heritage films, nearly one million cinema-related documents and thousands of pieces of equipment. Three-quarters of its funding comes from public subsidies. It regularly mounts retrospectives and exhibitions, such as a recent show on Marilyn Monroe. In February 2025, the Cour des comptes criticised the institution's management, saying it was failing to meet heritage conservation targets.
Controversies and reform
The Cinémathèque has also been shaken by the #MeToo movement and the broader reckoning over sexual violence in cinema. A screening of "Last Tango in Paris" in late 2024 triggered protests because of a rape scene filmed without the consent of actress Maria Schneider; the film was subsequently withdrawn from the programme. Huppert's presidency begins as the institution faces pressure to modernise its governance while preserving its core mission.
