Diva (1981)

Diva is a 1981 French thriller film directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix, adapted from the novel Diva by Daniel Odier. It eschewed the realist mood of the 1970s French cinema and instead adopted a colourful, melodic style, later described as cinéma du look. The mixture of "film noir, opera and art-house styles" did not please the producers, but was more to the liking of the Canadian audience at the Toronto International Film Festival where it was screened and achieved a "Critics' Choice" in 1981.

The film made a successful debut in France in 1981 with 2,281,569 admissions, and also had success in the U.S. the next year, grossing $2,678,103. The film was selected as the French entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 54th Academy Awards, but was not nominated. Diva became a cult classic and was internationally acclaimed.