Serge Avédikian (Armenian: Սերժ Ավետիքյան; born 1 December 1955), sometimes credited as Serje Avétikian, is an Armenian-French film and theatre actor, director, writer and producer, winner of Cannes Festival prize. Avédikian was born in Yerevan, Armenian SSR. His parents were born in France, children of survivors of the Armenian genocide. In 1947, influenced by Joseph Stalin's and Maurice Thorez's propaganda, they left to rejoin the motherland, where Avédikian attended the French school of Yerevan. At the age of fifteen along with his family, he returned to France. He had his stage debut in college, in his professor's amateur theater company. After studies at the Conservatory of Dramatic Arts in Meudon (France), he arrived in Paris in 1971 where he worked with the students of the Paris Conservatory. In 1976, he created a theater company and produced several plays. At the same time, he pursued a career as a theater, movie and television actor. In 1988, he founded his own production company but continues to direct films. Source: Article "Serge Avédikian" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.