”She was the queen of laughter”
Overcome with grief, Klifa said he turned off his phone for an entire day after learning of her death. He spoke of a woman who faced hardship with rare dignity.

Their friendship began in 1999, when Baye gave a long interview to Studio magazine, where Klifa was working as a journalist at the time. After the interview, she called him back to say she had enjoyed their conversation and suggested they go to the theater together.

“That was her — simple, spontaneous,” he recalled.

From that moment, a close friendship formed that lasted for decades. Even as illness entered her life, Klifa remained by her side. He said they would meet regularly, going for walks and sharing meals, and emphasized their mutual loyalty.

“She was loyal to her friends, and I stayed loyal to her until the very end,” he said.

He remembered her as someone who met everything with grace and never complained. “She taught me so much and gave me so much. She was incredibly generous — and so radiant, always full of laughter. She was the queen of laughter.”

“I will miss that smile terribly,” Klifa added.

Her legacy lives on through a body of work that shaped French cinema and reached audiences around the world.