Michelle Carey Receives Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters
L-R Philippe Platel, Audio Visual Attaché with Michelle Carey, H.E. Mr. Christophe Penot and Geoffrey Rush
Congratulations to MIFF Artistic Director Michelle Carey, who has been awarded the Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters.
Carey was awarded the Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters in a special presentation held during the opening weekend of the 2017 festival.
Industry guests were welcomed to the presentation by MIFF Patron Geoffrey Rush, who introduced H.E. Mr. Christophe Penot, Ambassador of France to Australia, for the official awarding of the insignia of the Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters.
During his speech Rush said, “For the past seven years, Michelle Carey has helmed the Melbourne International Film Festival with an encyclopedic knowledge and passion for global and local filmmaking; not only with her adventurous ground-breaking curatorship expanding annually the festival’s astonishing and wide-ranging hallmark chapters of diverse programming from classics to the latest in Virtual Reality – and firmly grounding the Premiere Fund in Australian filmmaking – but also her superlative/inspiring leadership of the team that creates Australia’s most pre-eminent International Film event.”
“I have a great love for French culture, and in particular French Cinema, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be a recipient of the Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters.”
In addition to being the creative force behind MIFF, where she has curated special programs such as Jean Epstein: Bonjour Cinema, Leos Carax: The Last Romantic and 70s New Hollywood Comedies, Carey is the Film Festivals Editor for Senses of Cinema and Co-Programmer of the long-running Melbourne Cinémathèque. She has also previously held positions with the Adelaide Film Festival, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image and the AFI Research Collection.
“It is an absolute honour to receive this award from H.E. Mr. Christophe Penot on behalf of the French government,” said Carey. “I have a great love for French culture, and in particular French Cinema, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be a recipient of the Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters.”
The Order of Arts and Letters (Ordre des Arts et des Lettres) was established in 1957 to recognise eminent artists and writers, as well as people who have contributed significantly to furthering the arts in France and throughout the world.
Carey joins an esteemed list of award recipients including actors Cate Blanchett, Uma Thurman and Marion Cotillard, as well as directors Tim Burton, Thomas Vinterberg, and Mia Hansen-Løve.