# Brigitte Sy

Brigitte Sy (born 26 January 1956) is a French actress and filmmaker. Her directorial film debut, Les Mains libres, was released in 2010 to critical acclaim in France.

## Life and career

She is the mother of the actors Louis Garrel and Esther Garrel whom she had with the director Philippe Garrel. In an Arte short film collection about AIDS awareness, she revealed that she has been HIV-positive since 1990, contracted from a partner who previously had a drug addiction. She also addresses the issue in Les mains libres and L'endroit idéal where the protagonist, Barbara (played by Ronit Elkabetz), is HIV-positive. Along with 99 other French women writers, performers and academics, she signed an open letter that argued the #MeToo movement had gone too far, turning into a "witch hunt", and denounced it as a form of puritanism, resulting in a backlash.
She is of Sephardic Jewish descent.

## Filmography
### As actress

| Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes |
| 1979 | Memoirs of a French Whore | | Daniel Duval | |
| 1983 | Télévision de chambre | Young girl | Arthur Joffé | TV series (1 episode) |
| 1984 | Liberté, la nuit | Micheline | Philippe Garrel | |
| 1989 | Les baisers de secours | Jeanne | Philippe Garrel | |
| 1991 | J'entends plus la guitare | Aline | Philippe Garrel | |
| 1991 | Meeting Venus | French Customs Officer | István Szabó | |
| 1991 | Cas de divorce | Agnès Delsol | Gérard Espinasse | TV series (1 episode) |
| 1993 | Le signal | The woman | Mendy Younès | Short |
| 1997 | Genealogies of a Crime | Jeanne | Raúl Ruiz | |
| 1997 | Ma 6-T va crack-er | The director | Jean-François Richet | |
| 1998 | Cantique de la racaille | Véronique | Vincent Ravalec | |
| 2000 | Combats de femme | Marlène | Yves Thomas | TV series (1 episode) |
| 2005 | Regular Lovers | François's mother | Philippe Garrel | |
| 2005 | Des putes dans les arbres | | Emmanuelle Huchet | Short |
| 2006 | Déluge | Her mother | Antoine Barraud | Short |
| 2008 | Fear(s) of the Dark | Eric's mother | Charles Burns | |
| 2008 | L'été indien | Alice | Alain Raoust | |
| 2008 | Versailles | Madame Herchel | Pierre Schoeller | |
| 2008 | Choisir d'aimer | Isabelle | Rachid Hami | Short |
| 2008 | Rien dans les poches | Agathe Manikowski | Marion Vernoux | TV movie |
| 2008 | Ben et Thomas | Madame Bouillon | Jon Carnoy | TV series (2 episodes) |
| 2009 | Nice | Fanny | Maud Alpi | Short |
| 2010 | Les Mains libres | The blond | Brigitte Sy | |
| 2011 | Declaration of War | Claudia Benaïm | Valérie Donzelli | |
| 2011 | Une vie meilleure | The indebtedness volunteer | Cédric Kahn | |
| 2011 | Dernière séance | The taxi driver | Laurent Achard | |
| 2011 | Vourdalak | France | Frédérique Moreau | Short |
| 2011 | Un mauvais père | Madame Legendre | Tigrane Avedikian | Short |
| 2012 | Chacun sa nuit | Claudine | Marina Diaby | Short |
| 2013 | Nuts | Madame Herschel | Yann Coridian | |
| 2013 | A Place on Earth | Loraine Morin | Fabienne Godet | |
| 2013 | Vandal | Christine | Hélier Cisterne | |
| 2013 | De l'usage du sex-toy en temps de crise | The doctor | Éric Pittard | |
| 2013 | Surveillance | Michele | Sébastien Grall | TV movie |
| 2014 | Wild Life | Geneviève | Cédric Kahn | |
| 2015 | L'Astragale | Rita | Brigitte Sy | |
| 2015 | La promenade du diable | | Béatrice de Staël & Brigitte Sy | Short |
| 2015 | Lui au printemps, elle en hiver | Hélène | Catherine Klein | TV movie |
| 2017 | All That Divides Us | Ben's mother | Thierry Klifa | |
| 2017–present | Black Spot | Sabine Hennequin | Julien Despaux & Thierry Poiraud | TV series (16 episodes) |
| 2018 | The Great Pretender | Thérèse's mom | Nathan Silver | |
| 2019 | Invisibles | Béatrice | Louis-Julien Petit | |
| 2019 | Online Billie | Brigitte | Lou Assous | |
| 2023 | Little Girl Blue | Monique Lange (voice) | Mona Achache |

### As filmmaker

| Year | Title | Credited as | Credited as | Notes |
| Year | Title | Director | Screenwriter | Notes |
| 2008 | L'Endroit idéal | Yes | Yes | Featurette |
| 2009 | Fruits de mer | Yes | Yes | TV short documentary |
| 2010 | Les Mains libres | Yes | Yes | |
| 2015 | L'Astragale | Yes | Yes | |
| 2015 | La Promenade du diable | Yes | Yes | Featurette |
| 2016 | Les Ogres | | Yes | |
| 2022 | Le Bonheur est pour demain | Yes | Yes | Released 2024 |

## Awards and nominations

List of awards and nominations :
| Year | Title of work | Award | Category | Result |
| 2009 | L'Endroit idéal | Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival | Best Short Film | Nominated |
| 2009 | L'Endroit idéal | International Istanbul Film Festival | Best Short Film | Nominated |
| 2009 | L'Endroit idéal | Festival do Rio | Best Short Film | Nominated |
| 2009 | L'Endroit idéal | Créteil International Women's Film Festival | Best Short Film | Won |
| 2009 | L'Endroit idéal | Lutin Short Film Award | Best Fictional Film | Nominated |
| 2016 | L'Astragale | Filmfest München | Best International Film | Nominated |
| 2016 | L'Astragale | Odesa International Film Festival | International Competition | Nominated |
| 2016 | L'Astragale | Film by the Sea International Film Festival | Film and Literature Award | Nominated |
| 2017 | Les Ogres | Lumières Award | Best Screenplay | Nominated |