Yves Heck is a French actor, best known for the role of Cole Porter in Midnight in Paris (Woody Allen, 2011) and more recently for Things to Come (Mia Hansen-Løve, 2016). He has a strong background in theatre, where he began his career at the age of 17. In Things to Come he plays alongside Isabelle Huppert, whom he defines as “a very generous actor”. He has acted in more than 10 films and television series.

The young actor also spearheads a project called Tête de Lecture’ every month at La Loge Theatre in Paris, when he reads impromptu pieces of literature brought by the audiences and picked up randomly.

He believes that a very conservative face of French society has now begun to emerge, a phenomenon which was not conspicuous just a few years ago. Recently the films of The Antichrist (Lars von Trier, 2009) and Blue is the Warmest Colour (Abdellatif Kechiche, 2013) lost their exhibition certificate in France due to lobbying from reactionary organisations and pundits.

Cinema has the power to transform both individuals and our society. Heck recently reclaimed his own freedom through his work in the pictures. Likewise, French cinema should become a resistance tool against these conservative forces.

You can find out more about Yves Heck on his website or through e-mail yvesheck@gmail.com.