François Chalais (; December 15, 1919 – May 1, 1996) was a prominent French reporter, journalist, writer and

film historian The history of film chronicles the development of a visual art form created using film technologies that began in the late 19th century. The advent of film as an artistic medium is not clearly defined. However, the commercial, public scr ...

. The

François Chalais Prize The François Chalais Prize ( French: ''Prix François Chalais'') is awarded at two main events, the Cannes Film Festival (since 1997) and the Young Reporters' Awards (since 1999). It was created to pay tribute to French journalist and film histor ...

at the annual

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

is named after him.

Biography

Born in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

in 1919, Chalais' real name was François-Charles Bauer. His journalism career began under the

German occupation of France during World War II The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

, as a writer for several collaborationist publications. Nevertheless, he was awarded the

Médaille de la Résistance The Resistance Medal (french: Médaille de la Résistance) was a decoration bestowed by the French Committee of National Liberation, based in the United Kingdom, during World War II. It was established by a decree of General Charles de Gaulle on 9 ...

after the liberation and continued a lengthy and distinguished career, most notably with ''

France Soir ''France Soir'' ( en, France Evening) was a French newspaper that prospered in physical format during the 1950s and 1960s, reaching a circulation of 1.5 million in the 1950s. It declined rapidly under various owners and was relaunched as a popul ...

'' from 1976 to 1986 and ''

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of reco ...

'' from 1980 to 1987. Chalais was a regular fixture on French television during the Cannes festival, interviewing celebrities and movie stars, often with his first wife and cohost

France Roche France Roche (2 April 1921 – 14 December 2013) was a French film actress and screenwriter. She appeared in 17 films between 1951 and 1979. She was a member of the jury at the 11th Berlin International Film Festival. Selected filmography ...

. In 1949 he fought and lost a duel with swords with director

Willy Rozier Willy Rozier (27 June 1901 – 29 May 1983) was a French actor, film director, film producer and screenwriter who also used the pseudonym Xavier Vallier. Filmography Director * ''Les Monts en flammes'' (1931) * ''Calais-Dover'' (1931) * ''Le ...

, provoked by comments Chalais had made about actress Marie Dea. In one of his reports for the French television program ''Panorama'', titled "Spécial Vietnam: le nord vu par François Chalais" (Vietnam Special: The North Seen by François Chalais), Chalais interviewed an American pilot who was in a

North Vietnamese North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...

prison hospital,

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

. The report offered a rare glimpse of everyday life in North Vietnam during the war and featured an interview with North Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Van Dong. Chalais was the author of numerous books, including 18 novels and 3 memoirs. Chalais married his second wife, Mei-Chen (née Nguyen Thi Hoa), after his famed 1968 broadcast on North Vietnam. In 1969, he was a member of the jury at the

19th Berlin International Film Festival The 19th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 25 June – 6 July 1969. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Yugoslav film '' Rani radovi'' directed by Želimir Žilnik. Jury The following jury members were announced for the fes ...

. Chalais died of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

in Paris in 1996.

Selected filmography

* ''

Lovers of Toledo ''Lovers of Toledo'' (french: Les amants de Tolède) is a 1953 historical film directed by Henri Decoin and Fernando Palacios and starring Alida Valli, Pedro Armendáriz and Françoise Arnoul. It was a co-production between France, Italy and Sp ...

'' (1953) * ''

Pity for the Vamps ''Pity for the Vamps'' (French: ''Pitié pour les vamps'') is a 1956 French drama film directed by Jean Josipovici and starring Viviane Romance, Geneviève Kervine and Yves Vincent.Rège p.541 Cast * Viviane Romance as Flora Davis * Geneviè ...

'' (1956)

References

External links

2004 French presidential decree making Mei-Chen Chalais a Knight of National Order of MeritBiography for François ChalaisFrançois Chalais, le rendez-vous manqué (about 1997 trip to Vietnam by Mei-Chen Chalais and Chalais' cameraman Jean-Pierre Janssen, a trip François had promised to his wife)French Archives Release Footage of McCain's Vietnam CaptivityJohn McCain au Vietnam – Panorama – ITA (Institut national de l'audiovisuel) Archive footageMort de François Chalais – Obituary, L’HumanitéReporter's widow plans to sue over McCain interviewAssociation Francois Chalais
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chalais, Francois 1919 births 1996 deaths Recipients of the Resistance Medal French male non-fiction writers 20th-century French journalists French duellists Writers from Strasbourg 20th-century French male writers Deaths from leukemia Deaths from cancer in France

Biography

Selected filmography

See also

References

External links