French cinema icon Claude Berri dies

January 12, 2009 "French cinema is now an orphan," Festival de Cannes president Gilles Jacob told reporters, leading a nation in bidding farewell to an industry giant. French President Nicolas Sarkozy called Berri "the most legendary figure of French cinema," and Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe referred to him as "a child of Paris who asserted himself as one of the major personalities of French cinema." Berri worked with the creme-de-la-creme of French talent including Gerard Depardieu and Emmanuelle Beart and produced films from such directors as Roman Polanski, Eric Rohmer, Andre Techine and Maurice Pialat.

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