At the age of 42, director Francois Ozon is known in the U.S. primarily for films such as “8 Women” and “Swimming Pool.” A student of Eric Rohmer, he sees himself as part of the generation of French filmmakers that followed the generation that followed the Nouvelle Vague.

“We’re the same generation as Tarantino,” he says. “But France doesn’t have a generation like Coppola and Scorsese. There was no place for the French directors of the ’70s in that history of cinema. People like me and (Olivier) Assayas and (Arnaud) Desplechin were not crushed by the Nouvelle Vague.”

Ozon’s latest is “Hideaway (Le Refuge),” a film (opening in limited release Friday, 9/10/10) about a girl who survives a heroin overdose that kills her musician boyfriend. Pregnant, she escapes to spend the summer at a beach house she borrows – where she is looked after by her dead boyfriend’s gay brother. It’s notable for how cheaply and quickly Ozon shot it – and for the fact that he was inspired to write it by the idea of making a film using an actress who actually was pregnant. He spoke about it during a recent trip to New York. (More…)