Bertrand Tavernier (25 April 1941 – 25 March 2021) was a French director, screenwriter, actor and producer.

Life and career

Tavernier was born in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

, France, the son of Geneviève (née Dumond) and René Tavernier, a publicist and writer, several years president of the French

PEN club PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Internation ...

. He said his father's publishing of a wartime resistance journal and aid to anti-Nazi intellectuals shaped his moral outlook as an artist. According to Tavernier, his father believed that words were "as important and as lethal as bullets". Tavernier wanted to become a filmmaker from the age of 13 or 14 years. He said that his cinematic influences included filmmakers

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

William Wellman William Augustus Wellman (February 29, 1896 – December 9, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and military pilot. He was known for his work in crime, adventure, and action genre films, often focusing on a ...

Jean Renoir Jean Renoir (; 15 September 1894 – 12 February 1979) was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the silent film, silent era to the end of the 1960s. ...

Jean Vigo Jean Vigo (; 26 April 1905 – 5 October 1934) was a French film director who helped establish poetic realism in film in the 1930s. His work influenced French New Wave cinema of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Biography Vigo was born to ...

and

Jacques Becker Jacques Becker (; 15 September 1906 – 21 February 1960) was a French film director and screenwriter. His films, made during the 1940s and 1950s, encompassed a wide variety of genres, and they were admired by some of the filmmakers who led th ...

. Tavernier was influenced by the 1968 general strike in France. He associated with the OCI between 1973 and 1975, and was particularly struck by the writing of

Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian ...

. The first film director with whom he worked was

Jean-Pierre Melville Jean-Pierre Melville (; born Jean-Pierre Grumbach; 20 October 1917 – 2 August 1973) was a French filmmaker and actor. Among his films are ''Le Silence de la mer'' (1949), '' Bob le flambeur'' (1956), ''Le Doulos'' (1962), '' Le Samouraï'' (19 ...

. Later, his first film (''

The Clockmaker ''The Clockmaker'' (french: L'Horloger de Saint-Paul, also known as ''The Clockmaker of St. Paul'' and ''The Watchmaker of St. Paul'') is a 1974 French crime drama film directed by Bertrand Tavernier. Based on the 1954 novel '' L'Horloger d'Ever ...

'', 1974) won the

Prix Louis Delluc The Louis Delluc Prize (french: Prix Louis-Delluc ) is a French film award presented annually since 1937. The award is bestowed to the Best Film and Best First Film of the year on the second week of each December. The jury is composed of 20 members, ...

and the Silver Bear – Special Jury Prize award at the 24th Berlin International Film Festival. His early work was dominated by mysteries, but his later work is characterized by a more overt social commentary, highlighting his left-wing views (''

Life and Nothing But ''Life and Nothing But'' (french: La vie et rien d'autre) is a 1989 French film directed by Bertrand Tavernier. It was inspired by the novel by Albanian writer Ismail Kadare titled '' The General of the Dead Army''. Synopsis Set in October 1920, i ...

'', ''

Capitaine Conan ''Captain Conan'' (original title: ''Capitaine Conan'') is a 1996 French drama film directed by Bertrand Tavernier. It is based on the 1934 Prix Goncourt-winning novel ''Captain Conan'' (Fr. ''Capitaine Conan'') by Roger Vercel. Plot In the Fren ...

'') and presenting a critical picture of contemporary French society ('' Ça commence aujourd'hui'', ''Histoires de vies brisées : les double-peine de Lyon''). In 1986, his film ''Round Midnight'' won two

César Awards The César Award is the national film award of France. It is delivered in the ' ceremony and was first awarded in 1976. The nominations are selected by the members of twelve categories of filmmaking professionals and supported by the French Min ...

(Best Original Music and Best Sound), the Best Film Award at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...

and the Oscar for Best Music (Original Score) at the 1987

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

. He won the BAFTA for best film in a language other than English in 1990 for ''

'' and a total of four César Awards and was joint winner of another. In 1995, his film ''

L'Appât ''The Bait'' (french: L'Appât), also known as ''Fresh Bait'', is a 1995 French film directed by Bertrand Tavernier about two boys and a girl who commit a murder, with the girl acting as the "bait". The film is based on the 1990 book of the same ...

'' won the

Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The win ...

Award at the 45th Berlin International Film Festival. Four years later, his film ''

It All Starts Today ''It All Starts Today'' (french: Ça commence aujourd'hui) is a 1999 French drama film directed by Bertrand Tavernier. It was entered into the 49th Berlin International Film Festival where it won an Honourable Mention. Plot In a mining town whi ...

'' won an Honourable Mention at the 49th Berlin International Film Festival. His film ''

The Princess of Montpensier ''The Princess of Montpensier'' (french: La Princesse de Montpensier) is a 2010 French period romance film directed by Bertrand Tavernier, inspired by a short story of the same name published anonymously by Madame de La Fayette in 1662. It star ...

'' competed for the

Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. Tavernier was married to screenwriter Claudine (Colo) O'Hagan from 1965 to 1981. They had two children. Their son,

Nils Tavernier Nils Tavernier (born 1 September 1965) is a French actor and director. He is best known for his film appearances in '' Beatrice'' (1987), '' Valmont'' (1988), and '' Revenge of the Musketeers'' (1994), and for his directorial efforts ''The Other S ...

(born 1 September 1965), works as both a director and actor. Their daughter, Tiffany Tavernier (born in 1967), is a novelist, screenwriter and assistant director. Tavernier was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the

42nd International Film Festival of India The 42nd International Film Festival of India was held on 23 to 30 November 2011 in Goa. The International competition (Feature) was chaired by Adoor Gopalakrishnan, and Short film competition was chaired by Basu Bhattacharya. For the first time ...

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

for his outstanding achievements and work in the film industry. He died on 25 March 2021 at age 79, a month before his 80th birthday.

Filmography

}) , Director, Writer & Actor , San Sebastián International Film Festival - Best Screenplay
Nominated -

César Award for Best Adaptation The César Award for Best Adaptation (french: César de la meilleure adaptation) is an award presented by the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma. It was initially awarded from 1983 to 1985, and then awarded again in 2006, when the origin ...

Nominated -

Lumières Award for Best Film The Lumières Award for Best Film (french: Prix Lumières du meilleur film) is an annual award presented by the Académie des Lumières since 1996. Winners and nominees In the following lists, the titles and names in bold with a blue background ...

Nominated -

Lumières Award for Best Director The Lumières Award for Best Director (french: Prix Lumières du meilleur réalisateur) is an annual award presented by the Académie des Lumières since 1996. Winners and nominees Winners are listed first with a blue background, followed by the o ...

Nominated -

Lumières Award for Best Screenplay The Lumières Award for Best Screenplay (french: Prix Lumières du meilleur scénario original ou adaptation) is an annual award presented by the Académie des Lumières since 1996. Winners and nominees Winners for Best Original or Adapted Scre ...

Nominated - San Sebastián International Film Festival - Best Film , , - , rowspan=2, 2016 , ''Voyage à travers le cinéma français''/ ''My Journey Through French Cinema'' , Director & Producer , Documentary
Nominated - Cannes Film Festival - L'Œil d'or , , - , ''Lumière ! L'aventure commence'' , Producer , Documentary , , -

References

External links

* * *
Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database

* ttp://www.wsws.org/articles/1999/jul1999/sff2-j10.shtml An interview with Bertrand Tavernier: "My job is to dream and invent, and out of this produce something that will change the world"- ''World Socialist Web Site''
Bertrand Tavernier speaks with the ''World Socialist Web Site''

An interview with Bertrand Tavernier on his film The Princess of Montpensier
at subtitledonline.com * Bertrand Tavernier in Conversation with Melinda Camber Porterbr>PDF

- ''World Socialist Web Site'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Tavernier, Bertrand 1941 births 2021 deaths Mass media people from Lyon French male film actors French film directors French male screenwriters French screenwriters French film producers Filmmakers who won the Best Foreign Language Film BAFTA Award Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Director winners Best Director César Award winners Directors of Golden Bear winners Lycée Henri-IV alumni French male television actors 20th-century French male actors