French-Iranian writer, director, illustrator and activist Marjane Satrapi, best known for her graphic novel series and the film "Persepolis," has died at the age of 56, the Elysee Palace in Paris has confirmed.
«"She captivated a global audience with her 'Persepolis,'" the palace said in a statement, calling her "a leading figure in French culture and an artist dedicated to freedom, whose works carried a universal message and brought her enormous international renown.".
«First published in 2000, Persepolis tells the story of a young girl coming of age during the Iranian Revolution, also known as the Islamic Revolution. Eight years later, it was nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Feature, co-written by Satrapi.
The AFP news agency, citing a "member of her inner circle," reported that she "died of grief just over a year after the death of Matthias Ripa, her husband and the love of her life.".
The palace statement added: "Through her childlike perspective, irony, tenderness and inner demons, the author created a deeply moving world with which readers could identify.".
Satrapi was an outspoken critic of the Iranian government, and Persepolis depicts her early life in the Iranian capital Tehran, where she struggled with the rules imposed by Iran's Islamic leadership after the 1979 revolution.
The story then goes on to show her parents sending her to Europe to begin a life in exile.
In the film adaptation, Chiara Mastroianni plays the young Marjane, and Catherine Deneuve plays her mother.
Studio Canal UK published a post on X dedicated to the memory of the "brilliant" and "outstanding artist and director who created Persepolis.".
They noted: "In this deeply personal and powerful film, she told audiences a story of identity, freedom, exile and resistance that continues to resonate around the world.".
Marjane Satrapi attended a rally in support of Iranian women in Paris in 2022 [EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock]
As a teenager, Satrapi studied for four years in Austria at the prestigious French Lycée de Vienne.
After suffering from severe bronchitis, she returned home for a while and found Tehran had changed dramatically, just as described in the second book of the Persepolis series.
She earned a master's degree in visual communication from the Islamic Azad University in Tehran and also married but later divorced.
Her parents strongly advised her to leave Iran and return to Europe, which she did, moving to France to continue her education at the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts du Rhin in Strasbourg.
After living in the country for more than a decade, she received French citizenship in 2006, but last year renounced her French Legion of Honor – the French equivalent of the Order of the British Empire – over what she called her beloved adopted country's "hypocrisy" in its relations with its homeland.
She also supported protests for freedom and rights against the Iranian regime.
Following protests in defense of women's lives and freedom, she told Deadline how her parents took to the streets to protest the regime's introduction of the compulsory hijab for women in 1983.
«"He was one of the few men; at that time they didn't understand that women's rights were the rights of the whole society," she said of her father.
She also said she had received threats and insults from the regime in connection with Persepolis and her activism.
«"I've been called a liar and a spy. Over the course of my life, I've learned not to be afraid," she says. "It's not that you don't feel fear; you feel it, but then you decide whether it bothers you or not.".
«It’s not that I’m fearless or indifferent, but in my country there are children who are being shot, and they are only 17 years old, while I have lived for more than half a century.».
In 2023, she led a protest outside the Iranian embassy in Paris in solidarity with five Tehran teenagers arrested for posting a TikTok video of themselves dancing to Rema and Selena Gomez's "Calm Down.".
«"We artists must be humble, but inaction is worse, indifference is worse," she said. "I don't think what I do is anything grand or large-scale, but I have a voice, I have a face, and I'm known in France, I'm simply doing what I have to do.".
Her other film credits include the 2014 horror comedy Voices, in which Ryan Reynolds played a factory worker with schizophrenia whose hallucinations drive him to commit murder.
She also directed a biopic about the eminent Polish-French physicist and chemist Marie Curie, Radioactive, as well as the films Chicken with Prunes (2011) and Gang of Beetles (2012). Her other novels include Embroidery and Woman, Life, Freedom.
Satrapi's husband, a Swedish producer, actor, and screenwriter, died last year, and she recently posted a series of touching Instagram posts, writing, "I've lost the love of my life.".
-
The director of Persepolis explores life after death.
-
Arterton and Reynolds find the voice of terror
-
A comedy about a serial killer in the film "Voices"«
-
A sexism scandal has marred the French comedy awards.