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Former French Culture Minister Frédéric Mitterrand, who was a high-profile and sometimes controversial figure on France’s cultural scene, died on Thursday at the age of 76, his family announced.

Born in Paris in 1947 to a well-to-do family, Mitterrand was the nephew of President François Mitterrand.

His many activities across half a century included teacher, arthouse cinema owner, cinema and culture commentator, TV presenter, producer and documentary-maker.

He first gained notoriety on France’s cultural scene as the owner of the bohemian arthouse cinema L’Olympic in Paris’ then down-at-heel 14th arrondissement.

After a brief time as a geography and history teacher, he acquired the theater in 1971 at the age of 22 with the help of a loan from the father of one of his former pupils.

It took on a folkloric status for its mixed clientele of locals, cinephiles, neighborhood hoodlums, drag queens and the occasional film star and auteur director of the time.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I cannot tell you how long I have personally been laboring, whining and maneuvering to get this film secured for Fantastic Fest. I sat in the first public screening of the film at the Cannes Market back in May alongside Michael Lerman from Indiewire. We looked at each other during the closing credits and agreed without words or movement. We had been hit in the face with a heavy blunt object.

Since then MARTYRS has been causing fragile eggs who have unwittingly wandered into screenings to leave the theater in one of four conditions: fainting, shaking, vomiting or weeping, or some disgusting combination of all four. This movie is hard. That said, it's my favorite genre film of the year, hands down.

I don't want to talk about the film AT ALL, and I recommend that you don't read ANYTHING about it if possible. If your buddies...