Eric Névé, a prominent French producer whose credits include Ziad Doueiri‘s Oscar-nominated “The Insult,” has died. Névé, 57, was the founder of the Paris-based production banner La Chauve-Souris and co-founder of the international sales company Indie Sales and its sister outfit Indie Prod. He died Sunday.
Through La Chauve-Souris, which he launched in 1995, Névé produced several popular and daring films from a mix of established and emerging directors, notably Jan Kounen’s “Doberman,” Jean-Paul Salomé’s “Les femmes de l’ombre,” Romain Gavras’ “Notre jour viendra,” Moussa Touré’s “La Pirogue” and Daouda Coulibaly’s “Wùlu.”
Névé was well-known for his contribution to the flourishing of new talents in West Africa, in particular Senegal, through his other production company, Astou Films.
In 2013, Névé launched the banner Indie Sales with former TF1 International executive Nicolas Eschbach. The sales and co-production company boasts a library of about 60 movies, among which are Jean-Pierre Améris’s “Marie Heurtin,” Claude Barras’ “Ma Vie de Courgette,” Justine Triet’s “Victoria,” Doueiri’s “The Insult,” Emmanuel Mouret’s “Mademoiselle de Joncquières” and Sameh Zoabi’s “Tel Aviv on Fire.”
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Névé also co-produced, via Indie Prod, Stefano Sollima’s “Suburra,” as well as Jasmila Zbanic’s “Quo Vadis, Aïda?”, among other titles.
“All the teams of Indie Sales, Indie Prod, La Chauve-Souris, Astou Films and Best Friend Forever empathize with the sadness of [Névé’s] family and loved ones faced with his brutal death,” said Indie Sales in a statement.
Many of his peers in the film industry have paid homage to Névé on social media. A memorial will be organized in Paris after the summer.
