Global
Storyteller
Born and raised in Paris, Clara Bellar is a versatile artist who speaks
French, English, Portuguese, Spanish & German. It’s always a joy for her to tackle original projects and embark on new adventures with equally passionate storytellers from different cultures and backgrounds, as an actor, singer, director, author & children’s rights advocate.
Film and Television
Actor
As a film actor, Bellar is best known for her role as the nanny robot in Steven Spielberg’s “A.I.”, Artificial Intelligence. She starred in Paul Schrader’s “Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist”, opposite Stellan Skarsgard. Alternating joyful between large and smaller productions, Bellar shoot a participation in Coline Pagoda’s upcoming guerrilla project “Les Enfants Lachance” in Paris.
Bellar’s film career took off when she met French New Wave director Eric Rohmer after he saw her in a Paris stage production of “Sleeping Beauty”. Rohmer cast her as the lead in a film Bellar co-wrote with him, Rendez-vous in Paris”. Bellar’s performance in the film led to starring roles in a number of independent films: “Kill the Poor” with David Krumholtz for producer John Malkovich, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival; the Franco-Italian film “Oranges Ameres”; British film “Romance and Rejection”; “This Space Between Us”, with Jeremy Sisto and Garry Marshall; the French film “The Pharmacist”, opposite Vincent Perez and Guillaume Depardieu. Bellar co-starred in “Sleepy Time Gal” opposite Jacqueline Bisset and Seymour Cassel, which premiered at Sundance.
Theatrical
Thespian
Bellar started an experimental theater company in Los Angeles in 2001: Ipanema Theater Troupe. She played the lead as the prostitute and her male cousin in Bertolt Brecht’s “The Good Soul of Szechwan”, a production she also produced & translated from German. The production earned Bellar rave reviews and was a Critic’s Choice in the Los Angeles Times. She produced & starred in the critically-acclaimed stage production of “A Flea in her Ear”, which was named Pick of the Week by LA Weekly, a Critic’s Pick in Backstage West, and one of the Ten Best Productions of the Year by The Los Angeles Daily News. For this production, Bellar received the 2001 Ovation Award for Best Translation and Adaptation. More recently, Bellar played two characters in Moliere’s “Doctor Despite Himself” at the Electric Lodge, and performed & produced the Euripides Greek tragedy “The Bacchae” at the Getty Villa.
Critically Acclaimed
Director
“Being and Becoming”, Bellar’s 99 minute film on the Self-Directed, Natural Learning movement, was shot in France, Germany, the UK, and the US. It’s been screened in over 30 countries, with theatrical releases in 6 countries, and will celebrate its 3rd anniversary in Cinéma Saint-André des Arts, Paris on May 28, 2017. The book “Etre et devenir, Faire confiance à l’apprentissage naturel des enfants”, with 200 pages of Q&A with various education specialists (Peter Gray, Pat Farenga, Isabelle Fillliozat, Catherine Gueguen) will be released that same day.
.
Celebrated
Singer
Bellar’s debut album, “My Brazilian Heart”, was produced & arranged by multiple Grammy winner Dori Caymmi, and features guest appearances by Milton Nascimento and João Bosco. International Japanese retailer MUJI included Meu Coração Brasileiro in their prestigious classic CD selection BGM+. It was a Fnac coup de ❤️ (personal favorite) and a Paris Première tv channel partnership. The track “Bahia Com H” is featured in Justine Malle’s feature film “Jeunesse”, her tribute to father Louis Malle. Bellar’s second album, “My French Heart”, is a personal selection of Chanson Française, produced & arranged (once again) by Dori Caymmi, with appearances by music legends Ivan Lins and Chico Buarque, who sings his own song “Nuit des Masques” in French for the first time in the duo with Bellar.
Children's
Advocate
Passionate about children’s rights, Bellar has talked to thousands of parents and educators in the context of Q&As and to the press in numerous countries. Her film Being and Becoming is about giving back to the youth, starting from birth, the right to make choices for themselves and for their own lives, about trusting and respecting who they are, their rhythms and interests. Children’s rights remains the civil rights battle of the 21st century, as violences against employees and women have been made illegal in the 20th
century, but violence against children (both physical and emotional, including “Ordinary Disciplinary Violence”) is still legal and banalized as “normal” in many countries even in the western world, including in the USA. Bellar believes that one step, one child at a time, we can stop this violence and give the next generation the consideration we owe them. For resources on Self-Directed Learning and allowing children to make decisions for themselves, visit the Alliance for Self-Directed Education.