Le Radeau de la Méduse

Written and directed by Iranian-born filmmaker Iradj Azimi, this French drama recounts the true story behind Théodore Géricault's celebrated 1819 painting: the 1816 sinking of the French frigate Méduse and the desperate struggle of the survivors adrift on a makeshift raft. The film intertwines the shipwreck ordeal with the painter's creation of his masterpiece, and stars Jean Yanne, Daniel Mesguich, Claude Jade, Laurent Terzieff and Rufus.

Shooting began in 1987 in the Antilles, but Hurricane Hugo destroyed the sets — including the frigate replica — in September 1989, delaying completion until 1991. Distribution then stalled for years; Azimi famously cut his wrist in front of French Ministry of Culture officials in protest. The film received a limited art-house screening in 1994, a three-part television version of 90-minute episodes aired on France 2 in 1995, and the picture finally opened widely in French cinemas in 1998.