Nicolas Altmayer, the prolific French producer behind the “OSS 117” franchise and films by François Ozon, Bertrand Bonello and Julia Ducournau, and his partner Mathilde Favier, a prominent Dior public relations executive, died Monday in a car accident in western France. Altmayer was 61 and Favier was 57. The couple were killed at around 4 p.m. on a departmental road in Airvault, in the Deux-Sèvres region, according to the Niort prosecutor’s office.
Their vehicle “hit a heavy goods vehicle traveling in the opposite direction while they were overtaking another vehicle,” deputy prosecutor Nicolas Leclainche told AFP. An investigation for involuntary manslaughter by a driver has been opened to determine the circumstances of the crash. Le Figaro reported that Altmayer and Favier were traveling from Cabourg to the Île de Ré, where Favier owned a home.
Altmayer was one of France’s most prominent independent producers. Together with his brother Éric Altmayer, he ran Mandarin & Compagnie, whose credits ranged from hit French comedies to films by some of the country’s leading auteurs. Among his best-known productions were Michel Hazanavicius’ “OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies” and “OSS 117: Lost in Rio,” both starring Jean Dujardin, as well as “Brice de Nice” starring Dujardin.
He also produced a long string of films by Ozon, including “Young & Beautiful,” “The New Girlfriend,” “Frantz,” “By the Grace of God,” “Summer of 85” and “Everything Went Fine.” His credits also included Bonello’s “Saint Laurent” as well as Ducournau’s “Alpha” and “Monsieur Aznavour,” the Charles Aznavour biopic starring Tahar Rahim. In 2017, Nicolas and Éric Altmayer received the César Academy’s Daniel Toscan du Plantier Award, which honors French producers. Ozon also paid tribute to Altmayer, writing on X: “Shock and sadness.
Nicolas Altmayer was a great producer. A supporter and a friend.” Franck Gastambide, who worked with Altmayer on films and the series “Validé,” described his death as a “terrible shock” in comments to Le Figaro. Favier was an influential figure in the international fashion and celebrity worlds.
After working at Prada, where she helped establish the Italian fashion house’s Paris press operation, she joined Dior in 2011 and became director of public relations for Dior Couture. In that role, Favier worked closely with many of Dior’s high-profile ambassadors and celebrity guests, including Natalie Portman, Rihanna, Jennifer Lawrence, Anya Taylor-Joy, Camille Cottin and K-pop star Jisoo. Le Figaro described her as a “solar and influential” figure in the fashion industry.
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