Actor and director Mathieu Kassovitz has been in a serious motorcycle accident, a representative for Kassovitz confirmed to Drama Filmy.
The La Haine filmmaker was driving along the Autodrome de Montlhéry, a motor racing circuit south of Paris, French news channel CNews and international news agency AFP reported Sunday. Kassovitz’s condition is said to be “worrying.”
Kassovitz was transported to the Kremlin-Bicêtre hospital, a source told the news outlets, after doing a motorcycle course on the circuit, a police source told AFP.
The director originally broke out in the industry in 1995 with La Haine, a French film that follows three men in the 24 hours after a violent riot takes place on the outskirts of Paris. The project, which Kassovitz also stars in and wrote, is regarded as an influential story that portrays racism and police violence in France.
“La Haine” is a French phrase that translates to “Hatred” in English and was released in the United States with the title Hate. Vincent Cassel, Hubert Koundé and Saïd Taghmaoui round out the cast of the film, which won Kassovitz the best director prize at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival. It also took home the French César for best film, which is equivalent to best picture at the Oscars.
More recently, the actor-director stars opposite Diane Kruger in Visions, which follows an airline captain whose perfect life with husband Guillaume (Kassovitz) begins to fall apart when she falls in love with Ana (Marta Nieto) and begins an affair. The filmmaker is also known for his work on Amélie, The Bureau and The Crimson Rivers.
