The Executive Director of Unifrance pays tribute to producer Margaret Menegoz, who directed Les Films du Losange from 1975 to 2021 and presided over Unifrance from 2003 to 2009, and who has passed away at the age of 83.
Margaret Menegoz was elected President of Unifrance in 2003. She was a close friend of Daniel Toscan du Plantier’s and had an extremely strong international outlook. Thus, after Daniel's sudden death, Margaret felt ready to devote her time to the association, which had been orphaned by the death of its influential and “off limits” President. Margaret put her very personal stamp on Unifrance. She explored new ways and constantly emphasized creative freedom, independence and respect for the work and the artist first and foremost. She headed the association until 2009, combining her life as a producer with that of a President, ensuring that French cinema as a whole could shine throughout the world.
Margaret was international because of her Hungarian and German origins, her command of several languages and her way of looking at the world. And further through the artists who chose her to work in their young company Les Films du Losange, Éric Rohmer and Barbet Schroeder. But also in the way she financed her films: co-productions and pre-sales, Margaret saw the international dimension as a crucial element for (the life of) a film – and obviously not just from a financial point of view – but also as an integral part of the artistic identity of the work.
Margaret Menegoz established a solid French distribution team at Les Films du Losange, headed by a woman, Régine Vial, whose know-how and ingenuity are acknowledged worldwide. Later, Margaret Menegoz chose to give her company an international reach by integrating a sales department, also headed by a woman. In fact, it was my first job in sales, and Margaret gave me the chance to grow up alongside her, within this wonderful Losange family, for almost 10 years.
Les Films du Losange has had many successes: some films have been successful in France, others internationally, and many everywhere. Margaret Menegoz knew the box-office figures for all her films by heart. She knew the foreign distributors, their successes and their failures. Great friendships were forged with them all over the world, with the greatest respect for each other's work. She knew that co-producing could bring a different perspective, a richness, an additional openness to the world. She put herself in the Franco-German relationship like no other, working tirelessly for co-production and closer ties between the two countries. Margaret knew better than anyone the power of the common imagination to build and strengthen ties, particularly in Europe. Lion d'Or, Palme d'Or, César and Oscars are just some of the awards she brought to the fine company Les Films du Losange, thanks to her extraordinary talent and pugnacity, along with her convictions and values.
Margaret didn't work for the international market, she was international. Her productions will tell a lot about her, her way of thinking and her love of the world. She was an example to many young women. I was one of them; Margaret taught me everything I needed to know about the world of cinema, which knows no borders and invites us to think outside the box.
Thank you Margaret, we will miss you terribly.
Daniela Elstner
