In 2017, an internal report from company P. revealed that only 2% of executive managers came from artistic backgrounds. Clara Pésery joined the executive committee in less than seven years, without going through traditional recruitment channels. Her trajectory questions established norms and redefines the contours of professional advancement in a sector known for its hermeticism.
Clara Pésery: a unique trajectory in the artistic landscape
Tracing Clara Pésery’s path means following a line that clearly stands out from the beaten tracks. Coming from a family where artistic demand is almost transmitted by osmosis, daughter of Isabelle Carré and Bruno Pésery, she grew up between the Basque Country and Paris, surrounded by her siblings Antoine and Madeleine. The family environment anchors her early on in a direct relationship with creation, but it is upon graduating from Fémis in 2001 that she decides to break free from the parental groove to venture into the realm of independent production.
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The next step? A calculated risk. In 2008, Clara Pésery launched Étoile Filante Productions. From the outset, the tone is set: the very first film produced, Horizons perdus, earns a selection at the Venice Film Festival. This ability to gather both promising young directors and established authors around her becomes the hallmark of her approach. Workshops aimed at youth, the establishment of a creation laboratory in the countryside, in Burgundy, reinforce her desire to build a professional project that does not conform to industrial codes or ready-made formulas.
Her various initiatives, from Premiers Regards to Cinéma Demain and Étoile Éditions, reflect a constant desire to renew formats and the stories told. The laboratory of Étoile Filante becomes a residency space, away from the hustle and bustle of the capital, for filmmakers and technicians seeking space and time. Guided by figures like Marin Karmitz, supported by Pascal Cauchetoux, encouraged by Marc Dupont, Clara Pésery establishes herself as a true bridge between generations. For a detailed insight into her journey, Clara Pésery’s journey offers an informative dive into the uniqueness of her commitments and the coherence of her choices in contemporary cinema.
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What challenges and encounters have marked her remarkable ascent?
Clara Pésery’s path has never been straightforward. From the beginnings of Étoile Filante Productions in 2008, choosing independence meant exposing herself to a series of concrete difficulties: obtaining funding when refusing compromises, ensuring the sustainability of the activity, dealing with the resistance of a highly centralized system. Producing works like Les Héritiers or Les Fantômes du passé was not a given; each project requires convincing, negotiating, and standing firm against the timidity of institutional funders.
But Clara Pésery has never moved forward alone. Her journey is enriched by crucial collaborations. Working with Michel Gondry, Zabou Breitman, or Karim Dridi sharpens her vision of new narratives. She also plays a key role for emerging filmmakers like Sophia Martinez or Karim Moussaoui, opening doors to international recognition for them. The collective dimension takes shape with the creation of the Laboratoire d’Étoile Filante in Burgundy, a space where new ways of producing and thinking about cinema are invented.
To better understand the extent of the encounters that have marked her path, here are some key points:
- Regular exchanges at major festivals, Cannes, Venice, Berlin, which validate the international dimension of her approach
- The strong support of recognized personalities like Marin Karmitz, Pascal Cauchetoux, or Marc Dupont
- Her involvement in networks such as the Collectif pour un cinéma durable or the Free Cinema Network
This grounding, nourished by inspirations drawn from Truffaut and Agnès Varda, directs her actions towards the concrete: workshops for youth, festival creation, international outreach with, for example, a branch in Singapore. Her strength? Bringing people together, standing firm in the face of adversity, and maintaining a delicate balance between creation, commitment, and transmission.
A commitment that redefines the contours of contemporary creation
Clara Pésery does not merely produce films; she imposes a method and a vision. With Étoile Filante Productions, she establishes herself as a major figure in author cinema and contemporary creation in France, but also internationally. For her, parity and diversity are not limited to speeches: they translate into concrete actions. She launches female collectives in audiovisual media, actively participates in round tables on the visibility of women, and directs her production choices towards increased representation of minorities. Transmission is integrated at every stage of her work.
Her commitment to eco-responsible production materializes in projects like Fragments or through support for local associations and young Basque creation. She encourages the promotion of sustainable agricultural practices and integrates themes related to food security into various works, thus creating bridges between creation, territory, and ecology.
Innovation goes beyond the artistic domain: Clara Pésery prioritizes active transmission through workshops for youth, institutional partnerships, and interventions at Sorbonne or Fémis. She participates in renewing imaginations: hybrid formats, outreach to Africa, valorization of Basque heritage, collective blog on linguistic diversity. Her work, recognized with awards in Venice, a Grand Prix in Cannes, and a selection among the 40 most influential European producers by Screen International, illustrates an approach where commitment serves as a driving force for creation and inclusion.
Through Clara Pésery’s trajectory, another way of shaping cinema emerges: one that connects audacity, fidelity to values, and the ability to transform margins into new spaces of freedom.