Nicole Védrès (4 September 1911 – 20 November 1965), born Nicole Henriette Désirée Charlotte Cahen dit Nathan dit Rais, was a French author, columnist, essayist, journalist, screenwriter and

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

Life and work

Védrès was born on 4 September 1911 in Paris. An important figure in the post-war French cultural world, she signed several articles under different names, including “Nathan” and “Rais.” Nicole Vedrès was the daughter of Jules Rais, doctor of law, librarian of the Chamber of Deputies and art critic, and Ludmila Savitzky, of Russian origin and who was a translator of works by James Joyce. Although Vedrès studied international law, she began a career as a journalist in the 1930s, writing for women's magazines and literary journals such as the ''

Mercure de France The was originally a French gazette and literary magazine first published in the 17th century, but after several incarnations has evolved as a publisher, and is now part of the Éditions Gallimard publishing group. The gazette was published f ...

''. During the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

, she wrote in ''Le Rouge et le Bleu'' in 1941–1942.

Filmmaker

Védrès began her career as a screenwriter and documentary filmmaker in 1947, with ''

Paris 1900 The 1900 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1900, link=no), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 1 ...

,'' where, assisted by

Yannick Bellon Marie-Annick Bellon, usually known as Yannick Bellon, (6 April 1924 – 2 June 2019), was a French film director, editor and screenwriter. Initially known for her documentary work, in 1972 she made her first feature film, ''Quelque part quelqu’u ...

and

Alain Resnais Alain Resnais (; 3 June 19221 March 2014) was a French film director and screenwriter whose career extended over more than six decades. After training as a film editor in the mid-1940s, he went on to direct a number of short films which included ...

, she explored the archives of current affairs of the

Belle Époque The Belle Époque or La Belle Époque (; French for "Beautiful Epoch") is a period of French and European history, usually considered to begin around 1871–1880 and to end with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Occurring during the era ...

. The film premiered at the

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 ...

and won both the Louis-Delluc Prize. and the Méliès Prize. She also embarked on a career as a novelist and published seven novels in all, most of them published by

Éditions Gallimard Éditions Gallimard (), formerly Éditions de la Nouvelle Revue Française (1911–1919) and Librairie Gallimard (1919–1961), is one of the leading French book publishers. In 2003 it and its subsidiaries published 1,418 titles. Founded by Ga ...

. In 1949, her film ''

Life Begins Tomorrow ''Life Begins Tomorrow'' (german: Morgen beginnt das Leben) is a 1933 German drama film directed by Werner Hochbaum and starring Erich Haußmann, Hilde von Stolz and Harry Frank.Bock & Bergfelder p. 202 After working on the film, the left-wing H ...

'' proposes in a sensitive and modern way, like a docufiction, to watch

Jean-Pierre Aumont Jean-Pierre Aumont (born Jean-Pierre Philippe Salomons; 5 January 1911 – 30 January 2001) was a French actor, and holder of the Légion d'Honneur and the Croix de guerre 1939–1945, Croix de Guerre for his World War II military service. Ea ...

who portrays a young provincial commercial employee disgusted by his time, at the meeting of French intellectuals:

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Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

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, Jacques Prévertand and others are also mentioned. She was a regular contributor to the literary television program ''Lectures for All'', which she hosted from 1957 with Pierre Dumayet.

Personal life

In 1962, Védrès married the director Marcel Cravenne (also known as Marcel Cohen). She died three years later, 20 November 1965 at the age of 54. Her play, ''Les Canaques'', based on her earlier work ''Les Niaoulis,'' was published soon after her death in 1966.

Selected works

Films

* ''

'' (1947) * ''

La Vie Commence Demain ''La vie commence demain'' is a 1950 French film directed by Nicole Védrès. It was the first X-rated An X rating is a rating used in various countries to classify films that have content deemed suitable only for adults. It is used when the vi ...

'' (1950) released in the US as ''Life Begins Tomorrow'' * ''Aux frontières de l'homme'' (1953) co-directed with

Novels

* ''The Labyrinth or Sir Arthur's Garden'', Fontaine, 1946. * ''Christophe or the Choice of Arms'', Seuil, 1948. * ''The Red Strings'', Gallimard, 1953. * ''The Executor'', Gallimard, 1958. * ''The Distant Beast'', Gallimard, 1960. * ''The End of September'', Gallimard, 1962. * ''The Hotel d'Albe'', Gallimard, 1963.

Theater

* ''The Canaques'', Seuil, 1966.

Awards

* Louis-Delluc Prize and Méliès Prize for ''Paris 1900'' * Durchon-Louvet Prize from the French Academy in 1961 for her life's work

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vedres, Nicole 1911 births 1965 deaths Film directors from Paris French women film directors 20th-century French women