French director Bertrand Tavernier, author of films such as “Coup de Torchon”, “Round Midnight” and “L.627”, died today at the age of 79. This was announced by the Lumiere Institute in Lyon, which he headed.
Bertrand Tavernier was a prominent figure in French cinema, a committed artist with an eclectic and internationally recognized body of work, and directed films both historical and contemporary, with a penchant for social themes. Tavernier was also a brilliant cinematic lover committed to preserving and transmitting the history of film, driven by a desire to defend independent French cinema and a passion for American cinema in the twentieth century.
He wrote several books on American cinema, such as the huge “Amis américains” and “50 ans de cinéma américan”. His films have been awarded several times. In 1964 he won the Louis-Delluc Prize for L’Horloger de Saint-Paul. “Coup de torchon” earned an Academy Award nomination in 1983. In 1984 he won the Director’s Prize in Cannes for “Un dimanche à la campagne”. Other major film awards include the BAFTA 90 Best Foreign Language Film for “La vie et rien d’autre”, the 1995 Golden Bear for “L’appât”, and the Venice Gold Award for his entire career. Bertrand Tavernier was born on April 25, 1941 in Lyon, a mecca for cinema with the Institut Lumiere of which he was president. As the son of writer and resister Rene Tavernier, he discovered the film while staying in a sanatorium. He later became a press attaché.
This way, in a time of French New Mystery, he met film directors such as Howard Hawks, John Ford and Michael Powell. At that time, he also began writing about films as a critic for magazines such as “Les Cahiers du cinéma” and “Positif”. He shot his first feature film in 1964, ‘L’ Horloger de Saint-Paul’. Tavernier’s other significant films are “Capitaine Conan”, “Ça commence aujourd’hui” and “Laissez-passer”. (Belgium / Belgium)
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