The Zurich Film Festival is honoring French actress Leïla Bekhti with the Golden Eye Award, recognizing both her outstanding career and her remarkable performance in VIOLETTE, the new film by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Bekhti will receive the award in person on October 1.
For nearly two decades, Leïla Bekhti has moved effortlessly between arthouse cinema and major French box-office successes. From drama to comedy, from supporting roles to leading performances, she has collaborated with directors including Radu Mihăileanu, Damien Chazelle, Jacques Audiard, and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, bringing remarkable emotional depth, strength, and vulnerability to every character she portrays. In VIOLETTE, she leads a peaceful life in a small village in Burgundy until the arrival of a new police chief, whose investigation brings long-buried secrets back to the surface. The film is directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the acclaimed filmmaker behind AMÉLIE.
«Leïla Bekhti is one of the leading actresses of contemporary French cinema,» says Christian Jungen, CEO of the Zurich Film Festival. «She stands out for her extraordinary versatility and remarkable screen presence. She brings rare emotional depth to every role and continually captivates audiences, as she does in VIOLETTE, a deeply moving drama that profoundly touched us and could well become one of the major French film successes of the year. We are delighted to welcome Leïla Bekhti back to Zurich and to honor her outstanding contribution to cinema.»
Leïla Bekhti says: «I am deeply moved and truly honored to receive the Golden Eye Award. I look forward to meeting you in Zurich this autumn.»
An Exceptional Career
Born in 1984 in Issy-les-Moulineaux, Leïla Bekhti grew up in nearby Bagneux before establishing herself as one of the leading figures of contemporary French cinema. She made her screen debut in SHEITAN (2006), directed by Kim Chapiron, before appearing shortly afterwards in the anthology film PARIS, JE T’AIME. In 2009, Bekhti joined the cast of A PROPHET, Jacques Audiard’s Cannes Grand Prixwinning film. Her participation in this landmark production accompanied the early stages of a career that would quickly establish her as one of the defining actresses of her generation, spanning both arthouse cinema and major commercial successes. She achieved her first major popular success with ALL THAT GLITTERS (2010), portraying a young woman from the Paris suburbs fascinated by a world of privilege. The performance earned her the César Award for Most Promising Actress in 2011. She then demonstrated the breadth of her talent in THE SOURCE (2011), playing a woman who initiates a sex strike in a North African village to secure better living conditions for the women of her community. In SINK OR SWIM (2018), she appeared in one of the biggest French box-office hits of recent years. On television, she starred as investigator Kahina Zadi in MIDNIGHT SUN (2016), before joining the cast of THE EDDY, Damien Chazelle’s acclaimed miniseries, in 2020. Her portrayal of a mother caught in a harrowing custody battle in THE RESTLESS (2021) earned her a César Award nomination for Best Actress in 2022. In 2024, she received another César nomination, this time for Best Supporting Actress, for her performance in ALL YOUR FACES, in which she portrays a woman confronting the aftermath of a violent crime. More recently, her performance in MY MOTHER, GOD AND SYLVIE VARTAN, directed by Ken Scott, in which she takes on a central role, earned her another César nomination for Best Actress and marked an important new milestone in her career. In 2012, Leïla Bekhti served on the Un Certain Regard jury at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2026, she returned as President of the same jury. This appointment crowned a career celebrated by both audiences and critics, confirming her place among the foremost figures of contemporary French cinema.
