Savage Nights (Les Nuits fauves)

Cyril Collard made the autobiographical French-Italian drama Les Nuits fauves, known internationally as Savage Nights, in 1992. Combining romance, biography and drama, it runs about 126 minutes and was shot in French. It is adapted from Collard's own semi-autobiographical novel, published in 1989, and it was his first feature film. It won four César Awards, including Best Film.

The story is set in Paris in 1986. Jean, a man in his thirties, has AIDS yet lives with an unrestrained sexuality and uses cocaine. He is treated for the illness but has many partners, among them the young Laura, and he does not always tell the people he sleeps with that he is HIV positive. The film follows a man in the shadow of an epidemic, moving between love, desire and recklessness, against the nightlife of the city. Collard stars in the film, with Romane Bohringer, Maria Schneider, Claude Winter and Clémentine Célarié; Carlos López is also named among the principal cast.

Collard wrote the screenplay with Jacques Fieschi. Nella Banfi produced, and the music was composed by Collard and René-Marc Bini.