The Hungarian-born German-French producer served as president of Les Films du Losange from 1975 until 2021, and was president of Unifrance from 2003 to 2008. During a career that included a key role at the Cesar Academy, Menegoz produced films for directors such as Eric Rohmer, Barbet Schroeder, Wim Wenders, Andrzej Wajda, Agnieszka Holland, and Michael Haneke, including the latter’s Palme d’or-and Oscar-winning in 2012. After her tenure at Les Films du Losange ended, Menegoz handed over the reins to Charles Gillibert and Alexis Dantec, who currently run the Paris-based production, distribution and international sales house created by Schroeder and Rohmer.
The company issued a statement on Friday confirming that Menegoz died in Montpellier on August 7. Citing her “love of films and work, and her loyalty to her filmmakers that have become the hallmarks of Les Films du Losange”, they described her as “open-minded towards Europe and the international scene, which she particularly cherished”. The statement quoted Menegoz as saying, “It takes years to build trust with an auteur, but you can lose it in a day.
Everything is earned through hard work.” The team added: “We will miss her beautiful, deep voice and unique accent terribly.” Gillibert told that Menegoz was “a producer and builder who transformed a production company into one of Europe’s most prestigious film studios, without ever compromising her principles of creative freedom and loyalty to authors�.