Born in 1951, Paris (France), Romain Goupil took an early interest in both film and leftist politics, producing his first short films at the age of 16 and participating in the student protests of May 1968. An assistant director for Chantal Akerman, Roman Polanski and Jean-Luc Godard, he went on to direct his first documentary feature, Half a Life (SFIFF 1983), winning the Camera d'Or in Cannes and a César for Best First Film. He continues to write, direct and act in shorts, features, documentaries and TV programs with predominantly political themes.
After directing some short films, he made his feature debut with the documentary HALF A LIFE (MOURIR À TRENTE ANS, 1982), which won the Golden Camera at the Cannes Film Festival. Then he moved between the work as an actor (FAT GIRL [À MA SOEUR!, 2001], directed by Catherine Breillat; A CHRISTMAS TALE [UN CONTE DE NOËL, 2008], directed by Arnaud Desplechin), and the work as a director, shooting several feature films, such as LA JAVA DES OMBRES (1983), MAMAN (1990), the anthology film LEST WE FORGET (CONTRE L'OUBLI, 1991), LETTER FOR L… (LETTRE POUR L..., 1994), DEATH TO DEATH (À MORT LA MORT!, 1999), PURELY COINCIDENTAL (UNE PURE COÏNCIDENCE, 2002), HANDS UP (LES MAINS EN L'AIR, 2010).

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IT
Nato a Parigi nel 1951. Dopo alcuni corti, debutta nel lungometraggio con il documentario MOURIR À 30 ANS (1982), che vince la Caméra d'or al Festival di Cannes. In seguito alterna all'attività di attore (A MIA SORELLA! [À MA SOEUR!, 2001], di Catherine Breillat; RACCONTO DI NATALE [UN CONTE DE NOËL, 2008], di Arnaud Desplechin), quella di regista, dirigendo tra gli altri LA JAVA DES OMBRES (1983), MAMAN (1990), il film collettivo CONTRE L'OUBLI (1991), LETTERE PER L. (LETTRE POUR L..., 1994), À MORT LA MORT! (1999), UNE PURE COÏNCIDENCE (2002), TUTTI PER UNO (LES MAINS EN L'AIR, 2010).


Source: GFF 2012 (Out of Competition - Sezione: Parental Control)
www.giffonifilmfestival.it/en/film-selected-for-gff-2012/out-of-competition/parental-control/item/157-hands-up.html