'Betty Blue' director finds prize location in the west
A CRITICALLY acclaimed French director has fallen in love with the west of Ireland and said he might consider retiring there.
Last night film director Jean-Jacques Beineix picked up the Gregory Peck Award for excellence in the art of film at the Dingle Film Festival.
The director spoke to the Irish Independent before a special screening of his 1986 Oscar and Bafta-nominated film 'Betty Blue'.
He said the remote location and the beauty of the seas in the west of Ireland inspired him and that he always dreamed of settling somewhere like Dingle.
"I like the life, the green, the tenderness of the colours and of the nuances. The roughness of the rocks in the sea and the wildness.
"I can sit and watch for hours the way the sea changes colours. I love the sea and the boats."
Beineix, who also directed of the 1981 thriller 'Diva' and 'Mortel Transfert' in 2001 said Dingle is perfect in its simplicity.
"It's not a fancy place; it's a real place and this is what I like. It's a place I could settle in. I'm always dreaming about settling in a place that is remote. I like this idea of being remote and I can watch the horizon. There is something beyond it that is open."
Beineix is in no hurry to settle soon but said he wants to move away from France.
"I want to move away from Paris. I don't know if I will do that but (Dingle) it's a place where you could think about settling. The people are very nice, always smiling."
Previous winners of the Gregory Peck Award include Gabriel Byrne, Jim Sheridan and Stephen Frears.
- Fiona Ellis and Majella O'Sullivan
Irish Independent
