The Artist is a 2011 French comedy-drama film in the style of a black-and-white silent film. Written, directed, and co-edited by Michel Hazanavicius, and produced by Thomas Langmann, the film stars Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo. The story takes place in Hollywood, between 1927 and 1932, and focuses on the relationship of an older silent film star and a rising young actress as silent cinema falls out of fashion and is replaced by the "talkies".