Guest of Honour: Gérard Jugnot
Le Père Noël est une ordure (Santa Claus Is a Stinker)
Jean-Marie Poiré
1982 / FRA / 1h28 / Age: 16 (16)
In the presence of Gérard Jugnot
Cult-classic cacophonous slapstick
Pierre and Thérèse are members of a suicide prevention and helpline organisation. They are on duty on Christmas Eve. Caught between this role and a chaotic neighbourhood, their evening turns into a nightmare, much to our delight. A black comedy that is as irreverent as it is masterfully crafted, it remains in top form without ever running out of steam.
Language: French
Subtitles: English
Starring: Gérard Jugnot, Anémone & Thierry Lhermitte
Guest of Honour: Gérard Jugnot
Actor, director and screenwriter, Gérard Jugnot made his name with the Splendid theatre troupe. There, he created a gallery of characters who are grumpy, clumsy, cowardly or overwhelmed by events, often embodying the “average Frenchman”. His appearance, voice and acting style have helped make him an instantly recognisable face of French comedy. Over the years, his comic style has also enabled him to develop roles in which the burlesque blends with a great sensitivity.
One of the defining features of his cinema lies in this expression, which he himself uses: “ordinary characters confronted with extraordinary events”. He describes this way of observing the world and its absurdities, somewhere between laughter, drama and melancholy, as “sneering sociology”. This vision is evident in his own films, from Une époque formidable (1991), Monsieur Batignole (2002), or even his latest film, Mauvaise Pioche (2026), where Jugnot returns to this theme: a man caught up in a situation that is beyond his control.
Gérard Jugnot has been entertaining generations of filmgoers for over fifty years. The VIFFF is delighted to be able to honour this genius of comedy.