François Truffaut

Cast · Writer · Director

Born

February 6, 1932 · Paris, France

Died

October 21, 1984

Birth name

François Roland Truffaut

“I have always preferred the reflection of life to life itself.” François Truffaut was an influential French director, screenwriter, critic and actor, known for being part of the Nouvelle Vague movement and collaborating in the magazine Cahiers du Cinema. The young Truffaut, passionate about literature, spent his life at the cinema, and thanks to the critic André Bazin, he began to write his first articles, fundamental to define and promote the concepts that would later mark his work. As a critic, he distinguished two types of filmmakers, those who conceived cinema as an art of spectacle and those who see it as a form of personal expression. As a director, Truffaut chose to follow the second path and his work often reflects his own experiences and concerns. His belief in auteur theory was evident throughout his work, emphasizing that the director's personal style was key to understanding and appreciating a film. His letter of introduction was The 400 Blows (1959), the first in a series of films following the life of the character Antoine Doinel from childhood to adulthood. Among his most important films are Jules and Jim (1962), Day for Night (1973), Stolen Kisses (1968) and the adaptation of Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451 (1966).