French actress Karin Viard’s stay as guest of honor at the Les Arcs Film Festival in the French Alps got off to a dramatic start over the weekend after she fell while skiing and banged her head.
The star, who is a best known internationally for her roles in films La Famille Bélier (which was remade as the Oscar-winning CODA) and Perfect Nanny, fell just minutes after taking to the slopes on Sunday.
She later posted footage on her Instagram account showing her being treated by medics as she lay on a toboggan stretcher ahead of being evacuated off the slopes.
“There you go, a head trauma after a minute of ski. That’s what you call talent,” wrote the actress.
Earlier in the day, she had been snapped at the unveiling of her star on the Slope of Fame, the Les Arcs Film Festival’s equivalent of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The festival is playing a trio of her past films – Alex Lutz’s Strangers By Night, Laurent Lafitte’s Dear Mother and 1999 breast cancer-pregnancy drama Haut Les Coeurs! by Sólveig Anspach – and the actress will also participate in a masterclass on Tuesday.
Reports of her accident revived memories of actor Ulliel Gaspard’s tragic death in a freak skiing accident in the neighboring resort of La Rosière in 2022, when a skier crashed into him on nursery run.
Thankfully, Viard’s injuries were light with the actress posting in an update on Monday, that she was back on her feet and enjoying the 16th edition of the festival to the full again.
She is among 20 French stars and directors attending this year’s edition of the Alpine film festival alongside Pio Marmaï, Noomi Rapace, Edgar Ramirez, Paola Cortellesi and Matteo Garrone.
The event, which traditionally runs alongside the opening of the ski resort for the winter season, kicked off with its three-day Industry Village this weekend, hosting 700 cinema professionals from across Europe.