François Bégaudeau (born 27 April 1971) is a French writer, journalist, and actor. He is best known for co-writing and starring in Entre les murs (2008), a film based on his 2006 novel of the same name. The film won the Palme d'Or at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film in 2009. He was born in Luçon, Vendée, France and was a member of the 1990s punk rock group Zabriskie Point. After receiving his degree in Literature, he taught high school in Dreux and in an inner city middle school in Paris. Bégaudeau published his first novel, Jouer juste in 2003. In 2005, he published Dans la diagonale and Un démocrate, Mick Jagger 1960-1969, a fictionalized account of the life of Mick Jagger. In 2006, his third novel entitled Entre les murs earned him the Prix France Culture/Télérama. Bégaudeau works as a movie critic for the French version of Playboy, having previously worked for the Cahiers du cinéma. He was also a regular contributor for several French magazines, including Inculte, Transfuge and So Foot. Since 2006, he has been a columnist for La Matinale and Le Cercle on Canal+ television. He worked on the screenplay for Entre les murs (2008), a film based on his 2006 novel of the same name, in collaboration with the film's director Laurent Cantet. Bégaudeau also starred as the lead in the film, which went on to win the Palme d'Or at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. The film also earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film in 2009, though it ultimately lost to Japan's Departures. The English-language version of Entre les murs was published in April 2009 by Seven Stories Press under the title The Class. Source: Article "François Bégaudeau" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
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Biography from TMDB.
- April 27, 1971 (55)
- Luçon, Vendée, France
- Writer, actor and director
- 8 on Motif · 16 credits in all
What are François Bégaudeau's films like?
Across their 6 Motif titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Society.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 6
Light 2 · Serious 4 · Dark 0
Grounded 6 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0
Gentle 1 · Charged 5 · Intense 0
Steady 4 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 0
A split, not a type: Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 0
Casual 2 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 1 · Affecting 4 · Heavy 1
Resolved 4 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 0
Roles they play
- Heroas François Marin in The Class (2008)
Moods and endings
- Bittersweet1
- Ambiguous5
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch François Bégaudeau's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 1 of their 8 Motif titles stream on a subscription or free service, on Tubi (1).
Subscription and free streaming for François Bégaudeau's titles on Motif; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
16 credits, 8 with a Motif page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films
Visiting Hours(2024)
Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films
Ne soyez pas vous-même (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2023)
Autonomes(2020)
Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all films
N'importe qui (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2017)
Love Is Dead (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2016)
The Statesman(2014)
Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Max & Lenny (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2015)
Clique (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2013)
Of Women and Horses(2011)
Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films
The Class(2008)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
Jeunes, Militants et Sarkozystes (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2008)
(Je suis une) VIDÉOMACHINE - Zabriskie Point (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2000)
Bandit Rouge (not in the Motif catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 15 titles, 14 of them dated from 2000 to 2025.
Biggest box office
The Class (2008)
Highest rated
The Class (2008)
Most popular right now
Mektoub, My Love: Canto Uno (2017)
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on Motif, shown from 5 scored.
How do François Bégaudeau's films land?
Their typical Motif film has a Midcredits score in the 32nd percentile, the median of all 8; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 44th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up1
- 50th to 74th2
- 25th to 49th2
- Below 25th3
Shape of the crowd
5 of their 8 titles are Mixed.
- Divisive1
- Crowd Pleaser1
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed5
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on Motif; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their Motif titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does François Bégaudeau work with?
People who share at least 2 of François Bégaudeau's Motif titles, grouped by what they did on them; Patricia Mazuy shares the most, 2.
Directors
- Patricia MazuyShared titles: Visiting Hours (2024), Of Women and Horses (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Patricia Mazuy
Writers
- Pierre CourrègeShared titles: Visiting Hours (2024), The Statesman (2014)See all 2 shared titles with Pierre Courrège
Actors
- Hafsia HerziShared titles: Visiting Hours (2024), Mektoub, My Love: Canto Uno (2017)See all 2 shared titles with Hafsia Herzi
- Lionel DrayShared titles: Visiting Hours (2024), Of Women and Horses (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Lionel Dray
Producers
- Xavier PlecheShared titles: Visiting Hours (2024), The Statesman (2014)See all 2 shared titles with Xavier Pleche