Rosalinde Deville

In 1988, Rosalinde Deville co-wrote the script for "La Lectrice," an offbeat comedy directed by her husband, Michel Deville. Just her second movie as a screenwriter, Rosalinde's script was nominated for a prestigious César Award. Though she didn't win, her status as a contender for the French equivalent of an Oscar represented a triumph of a different sort. After laboring for years in her spouse's shadow (Michel had directed more than 30 films since the late 1950s), Rosalinde was suddenly approaching A-list status in movie-mad France. Her success was hard-won. After working as an assistant director on several of Michel's films in the 1970s and 1980s, Rosalinde produced and either wrote or co-wrote each of the four features her husband directed in the 1990s. The Deville's tag-team approach to filmmaking showcased Rosalinde's ability to write everything from a tense murder tale ("Toutes Peines Confondues") to a laugh-filled romp about stolen loot ("La Divine Poursuite") to a character study of a troubled physician ("La Maladie de Sachs"). In the 2000s, Rosalinde continued scripting her husband's films. She and Michel co-wrote the period romance "Almost Peaceful" in 2002, and three years later she adapted a play that became the big-screen romantic comedy "Un Fil a la Patte."