French cinema bids farewell to Gaspard Ulliel on January 27, 2022. As announced by his agent a few days ago, the actor’s funeral will be held this Thursday in Paris, at the Saint-Eustache church, a little over a week after the terrible ski accident that killed the star at only 37 years old. Actor appreciated for his talent, his humility and his elegance, many personalities met for a final tribute but rich in emotion…
During this ceremony – a blessing – rather short, several friends of Gaspard Ulliel spoke. As reported by a BFMTV reporter present on site, several words were addressed to Orso (6 years old), the little boy that the actor shared with his ex-girlfriend, the model Gaëlle Pietri. The relatives of the actor promised all their attention and all their protection to the little boy, like superheroes, like his dad. During this sober ceremony, Orso remained close to his mother Gaëlle Pietri, before leaving the church discreetly, avoiding the crowd gathered in front of the Parisian building.
Also appeared Catherine Deneuve, Léa Seydoux, Louis Garrel, Jérémie Renier, Mélanie Thierry and her companion Raphaël, Niels Schneider, Alice Taglioni, Thierry Frémaux (general delegate of the Cannes festival), Alex Lutz, Vincent Cassel, Nathalie Baye, Amira Casar , Manu Payet… A rather discreet cinema figure, Audrey Tautou reappeared, not far from Isabelle Huppert, Vincent Lindon or even Anna Mouglalis.
A little later this Thursday, the La Rosière ski area, theater of the drama, will also pay tribute to Gaspard Ulliel. “At 3:58 p.m., which was the time of his accident on January 18, we will symbolically stop the ski lifts for one minute in tribute to him, his family and his loved ones”, announced Jean Régaldo, director of the La Rosière ski area, as reported by France Bleu.
A film and series to come, despite everything
As a reminder, Gaspard Ulliel died following a skiing accident which occurred on January 18, while he was on the Rosière ski area, in the Haute Tarentaise massif. Quoted by AFP, the prosecutor of Albertville, Anne Gaches, specified that the actor was “collided with another skier (…) as he had just turned left, presumably to join his friends who were“at another track on the estate. She confirmed that he was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, although, according to her, “it wouldn’t necessarily have made a difference“.
When help arrived, Gaspard Ulliel was motionless, unconscious in the snow, and “the other skier was unharmed“. Transported by helicopter to the Grenoble University Hospital, the actor finally died a few hours later. The announcement of his death the next day, January 19, caused great emotion that went far beyond his cinema family.
The actor was known to the general public for films like A long engagement Sunday (2004) by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Saint Laurent (2014) by Bertrand Bonello and Just the end of the world (2016) by Xavier Dolan, which won him the César for best actor in 2017. He had a career in France but also internationally and will star in the Marvel series Moon Knight, airing from March 30 on Disney+. He was recently filming for a series of Xavier Giannoli expected on Canal +, reported his agent to AFP, and had finished filming More than ever, alongside Vicky Krieps and Liv Ullmann.