Childhood
Henrii Verneuil (Ashot Malakyan) was born on October 15, 1920, in a province of Turkey called Rodosto. Henrii Verneuil’s lifestyle was like that of thousands of Armenians from Western Armenia. In 1924 the Malakyans escaped to Greece, later moved to Marseille, and later in 1930 they moved to Paris.
“We moved to Greece from Turkey, and after two years we left for Marseille. I didn’t have an opportunity to play and make friends with other children; there were no Armenians in our neighborhood. As for French children, they didn’t even look my way. I remember myself playing with a ball near a wall in our yard alone. I always had the feeling of loneliness”, said Henrii Verneuil.
Film director
After finishing a college in Ecuan-Provance, Henrii Verneuil entered a university and decided to make his father’s dream come true; he decided to become a journalist. Later he published series of articles in the “Marseillies” newspaper about the Armenian Genocide in Turkey.
But, as he said, he was not interested in journalism and in the 40s he started to get interested in films and produced over 20 short films. On November 20, 1950 he signed a contract for making his first feature-length film: “Table for dead people”. This film was based on the novel of Marcel Ayme. Fernandel was given the leading role in this film. In several years his next film with Fernadel, “The cow and the soldier”, helped him get famous. Henrii Verneuil produced over 30 films throughout his lifetime. He made eight films with Fernandel, five films with Zhan Gaben (among them were the “Monkey in winter”, “Music from cellar”, “Sicilian Clan”) and six films with Belmondo (“Weekend in Zuitkod”, “Horror on the city”, etc.). He also made films with Allan Dillon, Anthony Queen, Yul Brynner, Eves Montand, Patrick Dener…
After making numerous films and getting many prizes, Henrii Verneuil decided to return to his roots and make a film about his life.
“Mayrig”
In 1991 he expressed his lifestyle in “Mayrig” and “Parad street, House 588” (This was the address of the Malakyans in Marseille) films. These two films were the last films of the film director. Before that Henrii Verneuil had never told about Armenians in his works, besides the “For you, Armenia” clip dedicated to the earthquake of Spitak with the participation of 90 French singers and actors that he made with help from Charles Aznavour. Anyone who has watched the last two films of Henrii Verneuil will confess that he never forgot who he was. Once when answering to a journalist’s question as to how well Ashot Malakyan and Henrii Verneuil related to each other, he said, “O, my friend, Ashot and Henrii slowly became friends. And later Verneuil forgot Malakyan and now he is free. Yes, he is free, but how can he forget the culture that he inherited from his mother? I can speak and write in Armenian, and when I speak Armenian a couple of days, my Armenian becomes fluent. To forget about your roots means to forget who you are. I light candles in the Armenian Church since my early childhood, and the Church is not only faith, but it is also culture. I used to sing the songs of Komitas. And if I was born in the Armenian Church, it means that I was born into the Armenian culture as well”.
Henrii Verneuil talked about his mother several times on TV, reminisced. People listened to what he said very carefully and were very interested in it. Once, Anri Truaya advised him to write his memories. He wrote his memories about his mother in his book entitled “Mayrig” (Mother). It was written in 1958, translated into ten languages and was published in two hundred thousand copies.
The book has the Nansen passport pictures of little Henrii and his mother on its first page.
“The film is about my family, about my people. It shows how grateful I am for my mother. Besides that this film has young Armenians in its target, but I believe both French people and other nations will like it. I hope those who like their mothers and their childhood, see them in their dreams, those who are able to love other people will like this film.
The music composer of the film is Zhan Clode Pti, the father’s role plays Omar Sharif, beautiful Nathalie Rousell plays the role of aunt Gayane, and beautiful Isabelle Sadoyan plays the role of the other aunt. I have invited very good specialists from Hollywood and France. This film is the story of my life, which I have to tell during two hours and forty minutes. Each time when cutting off a part of the film it seemed to me that a part of my body was being cut. How can I tell the whole story of my mother’s life of eighty years in these short minutes?”
Henrii Verneuil didn’t make any more films after 1984. He concentrated on his past. During several years Henrii Verneuil wrote forty seven film scenarios telling about his life, but only the forty eighth scenario was presented as a film. Henrii Verneuil passed away on January 11, 2002 in a Paris hospital at the age of 81. The president of France, Jacques Chirak, was one of the first ones to express his condolences. He said the following, “Verneuil is part of the French film legacy”.
Prizes
1954 “Locarno” the main prize (award) “The sheep with five legs”
1956 “Oscar” the best original script for “The ship with five legs”
1980 “Oscar” for the best film and the best script “And how Ikar…”
1996 “Oscar” for all films