Savage Nights

Les Nuits fauves, known in English as Savage Nights, is a 1992 French-Italian drama that marks the feature directing debut of Cyril Collard, who adapted it from his own semi-autobiographical novel of the same name, first published in 1989. Set in Paris in 1986, the story follows Jean, a man in his thirties who has AIDS yet leads an unrestrained sexual life and uses cocaine. Although he undergoes treatment, he keeps numerous partners, among them the teenage Laura, and he does not always reveal his HIV status to the people he sleeps with. Collard also plays the lead role, alongside Romane Bohringer, Maria Schneider, Claude Winter and Clémentine Célarié. Shot in French and running about 126 minutes, the picture blends romance and raw autobiography to portray one man's life under the shadow of the epidemic and the nightlife of 1980s Paris. The film earned four César Awards, including the prize for Best Film, cementing Collard's reputation as both a writer and filmmaker.