Paul Seban (21 October 1929 – 1 July 2020) was an Algerian-born French film director and journalist.

Biography

After spending his childhood in

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

, Seban arrived in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

at age 19. After graduating university with a law degree, he enrolled in the

Institut des hautes études cinématographiques L'Institut des hautes études cinématographiques (IDHEC; the "Institute for Advanced Cinematographic Studies") is a French film school, founded during World War II under the leadership of Marcel L'Herbier who was its president from 1944 to 1969. I ...

(IDHEC), graduating in 1952. On set of the 1954 film ''

French Cancan ''French Cancan'' (also known as ''Only the French Can'') is a 1955 French-Italian musical film written and directed by Jean Renoir and starring Jean Gabin and Francoise Arnoul. Where Renoir's previous film ''Le Carosse d’or'' had celebrated ...

'', Seban met

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. ...

and began his career as an assistant film director. He worked alongside numerous big names in the film industry, including

Alexandre Astruc Alexandre Astruc (; 13 July 1923 – 19 May 2016) was a French film critic and film director. Biography Before becoming a film director he was a journalist, novelist and film critic. His contribution to the auteur theory centers on his notion o ...

Marcel Carné Marcel Albert Carné (; 18 August 1906 – 31 October 1996) was a French film director. A key figure in the poetic realism movement, Carné's best known films include '' Port of Shadows'' (1938), ''Le Jour Se Lève'' (1939), '' The Devil's Envoys ...

Stanley Donen Stanley Donen ( ; April 13, 1924 – February 21, 2019) was an American film director and choreographer whose most celebrated works are '' On the Town,'' (1949) and ''Singin' in the Rain'' (1952), both of which he co-directed with Gene Kell ...

, and

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

. Through the cinematic industry's difficulties in the 1950s, Seban also worked as an assistant director in television. During a 1961 interview for the program ''Lectures pour tous'', he met

Marguerite Duras Marguerite Germaine Marie Donnadieu (, 4 April 1914 – 3 March 1996), known as Marguerite Duras (), was a French novelist, playwright, screenwriter, essayist, and experimental filmmaker. Her script for the film ''Hiroshima mon amour'' (1959) ea ...

. The pair worked on several short films for television and notably collaborated for the 1967 film '' La Musica'', based on Duras' play of the same name. Following ''La Musica'', Seban devoted himself entirely to television. He also worked as a journalist, writing articles for '' Positif'' and ''

Ligue de l'enseignement ''La Ligue de l'enseignement'' was initially conceived and created by the journalist Jean Macé, on 15 November 1866. It was advocated for by liberal press, as public, free, compulsory and secular education. A congress convened in 1881, which gav ...

''. Seban filmed numerous political documentaries centering around anti-colonialism and communism. He worked for the French General Confederation of Labor and was a member of the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Unit ...

from 1946 until his death. Paul Seban died in Paris on 1 July 2020 at the age of 90.

Filmography

Director

*'' 20,000 Leagues Across the Land'' (1961) *''Jean Cocteau répond à Roger Stéphane'' (1964) *''La Longue Nuit'' (1965) *''Marguerite Duras chez les fauves'' (1966) *''La Musica'' (1967) *''Ce jour-là'' (1967) *''Les amants d'Avignon'' (1975) *''Le mammouth'' (1975) *''Un jeune homme rebelle'' (1976) *''Cinéma 16'' (1976) *''Le destin personnel'' (1979) *''Catherine'' (1981) *''Contes modernes: À propos du travail'' (1982) *''Cinéma 16 : Délit de fuite'' (1982) *''Pour Élisa'' (1983) *''Une péniche nommée Réalité'' (1985) *''Les mystérieux tueurs fous'' (1986) *''Traces de mai'' (1998)

Assistant director

*''French Cancan'' (1955) *'' Young Sinners'' (1958) *'' One Life'' (1958) *''Demain en Nanguila'' (1960) *'' Wise Guys'' (1961) *''

The Trial ''The Trial'' (german: Der Process, link=no, previously , and ) is a novel written by Franz Kafka in 1914 and 1915 and published posthumously on 26 April 1925. One of his best known works, it tells the story of Josef K., a man arrested and pr ...

'' (1962) *''

Charade Charade or charades may refer to: Games * Charades, originally "acting charades", a parlor game Films/TV * ''Charade'' (1953 film), an American film featuring James Mason * ''Charade'' (1963 film), an American film starring Cary Grant and A ...

'' (1963)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seban, Paul 1929 births 2020 deaths French film directors French journalists French people of Algerian descent Pieds-noirs