This 4th of July, the French Minister of Culture, Mrs. Rachida Dati, generously awarded me the rank of Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters. I was previously honored as a Chevalier (a Knight) in 1992. I was told this was a promotion for lifetime contributions to the culture of France and the World.
This is an old French tradition originating with the Order of Saint-Michel, founded in 1469, and given to artists, scholars, and men of letters. André Malraux, then Minister of Culture in Charles de Gaulle’s administration, ratified this order.
My French first cousin’s niece, Caroline, is pictured next to me. My mother, Jacqueline, passed on when I was making my last feature film, “Snowden,” in 2015. Aside from the recent documentaries, I’m continuing to write a second memoir that begins in 1987 and planning to make another feature film early in 2025.