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Brigitte Sy

Brigitte Sy

Actor and writer, also director · Born January 26, 1956 (70) · Paris, France

Brigitte Sy (born 26 January 1956) is a French actress and filmmaker. Her directorial film debut, Les Mains libres, was released in 2010 to critical acclaim in France. She is the mother of the actors Louis Garrel and Esther Garrel whom she had with the director Philippe Garrel. In an Arte short film collection about AIDS awareness, she revealed that she has been HIV-positive since 1990, contracted from a partner who previously had a drug addiction. She also addresses the issue in Les mains libres and L'endroit idéal where the protagonist, Barbara (played by Ronit Elkabetz), is HIV-positive. She opposes the feminist #MeToo movement (#BalanceTonPorc in France) and signed an anti-metoo letter in Le Monde, on 9 January 2018, arguing that men have the freedom to harass (importuner) women. She is of Sephardic Jewish descent. Source: Article "Brigitte Sy" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
January 26, 1956 (70)
From
Paris, France
Works as
Actor and writer, also director
Titles
14 on MovieCove · 44 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 63 days to Oct 26Up 21% in 30 days

What are Brigitte Sy's films like?

Across their 9 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
22%
Self
22%
Power
21%
Survival
21%
Society
8%
Morality
6%
Family bonds3 titles, browse their movies with this themeFreedom2 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love2 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity2 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival2 titles, browse their movies with this themeSelf-worth2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 8 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Dark: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their dark movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 0 · Serious 4 · Dark 4

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 6 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 0 · Charged 5 · Intense 3

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 3 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 1

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 6 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 0

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 0

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 0 · Engaged 8 · Full focus 0

Heavy: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their heavy movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

Easy watch 0 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 6

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 6 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

1 analyzed role

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Melancholic
7
Tense
5
Dread
2
Hopeful
3
Warm
1
Other
3

How their films linger

Thought-provoking5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy1
  • Bittersweet3
  • Tragic2
  • Ambiguous3

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Brigitte Sy's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 6 of their 14 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Brigitte Sy's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

44 credits, 14 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

  • Another Day(2026)

    as Catherine

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • Reformed(2025)

    Show 8 episodes · as Jeannine

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all shows

  • Le bonheur est pour demain (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

    Director · Writer

  • Little Girl Blue(2023)

    as Monique Lange (voice)

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • L'Opéra(2021)

    Show 16 episodes · as Nadia Menour

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all shows

  • La rupture (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)

    as Josée

  • Online Billie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    as Brigitte

  • Street Flow(2019)

    as TD Professor

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • Têtard (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    Show 25 episodes · as La mère de Ben

  • Invisibles(2018)

    as Béatrice, social services manager

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films

  • All That Divides Us(2017)

    as Ben's Mother

    Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all films

  • Quadras (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Show 8 episodes · as Sylvianne

  • Black Spot (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Show 8 episodes · as Sabine Hennequin

  • Ogres (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Writer

  • Unexpected Love (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    as Hélène

  • Astragal(2015)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films

  • Wild Life(2014)

    as Geneviève

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films

  • Closed Circuit (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    as Michèle Solvy

  • Vandal (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    as Christine, la tante

  • A Place on Earth (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    as Loraine Morin

  • Nuts (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    as Mme Herschel, la psy

  • A Better Life (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    as La femme bénévole surendettement

  • Declaration of War(2011)

    as Claudia Benaïm

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • The Last Screening (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    as The taxi driver

  • Free Hands (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Director · Scenario Writer

  • Nice (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    as Fanny

  • Rien dans les poches (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    as Agathe Manikowski

  • Versailles (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    as Madame Herchel

  • Choosing Love (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    as Isabelle

  • Fear(s) of the Dark(2007)

    as (voice)

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films

  • Déluge (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    as Her mother

  • Regular Lovers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    as la mère de François

  • Melody for a Hustler (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)

    as Véronique

  • Ma 6-T va crack-er(1997)

    as La principale du collège

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films

  • Genealogies of a Crime(1997)

    as Jeanne

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films

  • I Can No Longer Hear the Guitar (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

    as Aline

  • Emergency Kisses (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

    as Jeanne

  • Liberty at Night (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

    as Micheline

  • Casting (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)

    as Woman of the cast

  • Cinématon XXVI (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)

    as N°250

  • Memoirs of a French Whore (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)

    Actor

  • Cinématon(1984)

    as N°250

    Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films

  • Le Joueur (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Actor

  • Sang craché des lèvres belles (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    as Béatrice

Career shape

Star power in the 92nd percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 43 titles, 41 of them dated from 1978 to 2025; peak year 2012.

Biggest box office

Invisibles (2018)

$11M worldwide

Highest rated

Another Day (2026)

Midcredits 80th

Film career

19782025

Peak 2012 · steadily prominent in film for years. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting39 of 43: 39 only acting, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score64thDirecting3 of 43: 0 only directing, 3 with another roleWriting4 of 43: 1 only writing, 3 with another role

43 titles, 3 with more than one role.

By decade

1970s2 · acting1980s4 · acting1990s4 · acting2000s7 · acting2010s19 · 16 acting · 3 crew2020s5 · 4 acting · 1 crew

Billing

usually 8th · top billed in 0% of 13 roles
9712

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.

How do Brigitte Sy's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 64th percentile, the median of all 12; across their 8 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 64th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

64thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 8

Approval · how many liked their films

55thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 8

Reach · how many have seen their films

66thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 8

Midcredits score across 14 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up3
  • 50th to 74th7
  • 25th to 49th3
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

9 of their 14 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Cult Classic2
  • Crowd Pleaser9
  • Mixed3

Most divisive · actor

Cinématon (1984)

88th percentile spread · 26% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

Another Day (2026)

Midcredits 80th · 70% liked

Reviewers score the acting 77/100 in their films, across 5 reviewed titles; fans 81, detractors 68. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Brigitte Sy work with?

People who share at least 2 of Brigitte Sy's MovieCove titles; David Chambille shares the most, 2.