Death of Philippe Pozzo di Borgo, the man whose tragic fate inspired the Intouchables

2023-06-02 22:06:46

By Le Figaro

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The French entrepreneur who became a quadriplegic after a paragliding accident died on June 2 at the age of 72. Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache’s film released in 2011, which attracted 19 million spectators, retraced its history.

His tragic life inspired, Untouchables (2011), one of the great French cinematographic successes. Business leader Philippe Pozzo di Borgo died on June 2, at the age of 72. The seventh art will remember that it was the actor François Cluzet who, in a masterful composition, lent him his features on the big screen.

The directors of this tragicomedy Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache, who crowned Omar Sy with the César for best actor, immediately expressed their emotion on Twitter: “We have just learned with great sadness the disappearance of our friend Philippe Pozzo di Borgo. By accepting that we adapt his story in Intouchables, he has changed our lives and the lives of many vulnerable and fragile people.».

Read alsoThe appeal of the hero of Intouchables against euthanasia: “Relieve but not kill”

Philippe Pozzo di Borgo had recounted his terrible fate in a biographical book entitled The Second Wind. It was his resilience, his fantastic appetite for life after his paragliding accident that prompted filmmakers Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache to write a screenplay narrating the unique relationship that developed between Philippe Pozzo di Borgo and his assistant Abdel Yasmin Sellou, immortalized in Untouchables by Omar Sy.

Untouchables was a triumph when it was released in 2011, attracting more than 19 million people to cinemas. The film became at the time the 2nd greatest success of French cinema, relegating the mythical Big Mop by Gérard Oury in third place. The record was set by Welcome to the Ch’tis by Dany Boon in 2008 (over 20 million admissions in France, 27 million worldwide).

Lover of life despite the suffering with which he had to live since his accident in 1993, Philippe Pozzo di Borgo had become the godfather of the association Soulager but not killing, which campaigns in particular against euthanasia. In 2016, he will also accept sponsorship from UP for Hummanness dedicated to the professional integration of people with disabilities.

Untouchables in 2011, film by Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache inspired by the life of Philippe Pozzo di Borgo, with François Cluzet, Omar Sy…

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