René Clair Award (french: Prix René-Clair) is an award instituted in 1994 and presented by the '' Académie française'' for achievements in the field of

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...

. The prize was named after the French

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

René Clair René Clair (11 November 1898 – 15 March 1981), born René-Lucien Chomette, was a French filmmaker and writer. He first established his reputation in the 1920s as a director of silent films in which comedy was often mingled with fantasy. He wen ...

. Each year, the winner of the prize is rewarded for the “whole of his cinematographic work”. Two special cases should however be noted, the awarding of two vermeil medals in 1995 to

Pierre Billard Pierre Billard (3 July 1922 – 10 November 2016) was a French journalist, film critic and historian of cinema. Career Born in Dieppe (Seine-Maritime), Pierre Billard followed the courses of resistant Valentin Feldman during the Occupation o ...

on the one hand, and to

Jean-Michel Frodon Jean-Michel Frodon (born 20 September 1953 in Paris) is a journalist, critic and historian of cinema. Biography Born Jean-Michel Billard, he writes with a pseudonym borrowed from Frodo of ''The Lord of the Rings''. He has a master's degree and a ...

on the other, for critical works devoted to cinema.

Recipients

*1994:

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 ...

*1995:

Robert Bresson Robert Bresson (; 25 September 1901 – 18 December 1999) was a French film director. Known for his ascetic approach, Bresson contributed notably to the art of cinema; his non-professional actors, ellipses, and sparse use of scoring have l ...

*1995:

(awarded vermeil medal for his work: ''L'Âge classique du cinéma français. Du cinéma parlant à la Nouvelle vague'') *1995:

(awarded vermeil medal for his work: ''L'Âge moderne du cinéma français. De la Nouvelle Vague à nos jours'') *1996: Edouard Molinaro *1997:

Jacques Rozier Jacques Rozier (; 10 November 1926) is a French film director and screenwriter. He is one of the lesser known members of the French New Wave movement and has collaborated with Jean-Luc Godard. Three of his films have been screened at the Canne ...

*1998:

Costa-Gavras Costa-Gavras (short for Konstantinos Gavras; el, Κωνσταντίνος Γαβράς; born 12 February 1933) is a Greek-French film director, screenwriter, and producer who lives and works in France. He is known for films with political and s ...

*1999:

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a ( né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, tw ...

*2000: Patrice Leconte *2001:

Agnès Jaoui Agnès Jaoui (born 19 October 1964) is a French actress, screenwriter, film director and singer. She frequently worked in collaboration with her former partner Jean-Pierre Bacri. Life and career Jaoui was born in Antony, Hauts-de-Seine, and is ...

and

Jean-Pierre Bacri Jean-Pierre Bacri (24 May 1951 – 18 January 2021) was a French actor and screenwriter. He frequently worked in collaboration with Agnès Jaoui. Life and career One of Bacri's earliest film appearances was ''Subway''. He co-wrote with Jaoui ...

*2002: Agnès Varda *2003: André Téchiné *2004:

Alain Corneau Alain Corneau (7 August 1943 – 30 August 2010) was a French film director and writer. Corneau was born in Meung-sur-Loire, Loiret. Originally a musician, he worked with Costa-Gavras as an assistant, which was also his first opportunity to work ...

*2005: Claude Chabrol *2009: Agnès Varda *2010: Xavier Giannoli *2011:

Danièle Thompson Danièle Thompson (born 3 January 1942) is a Monegasque film director and screenwriter. Thompson is the daughter of film director Gérard Oury, and actress Jacqueline Roman. She has written screenplays for a number of highly successful films i ...

*2012: Benoît Jacquot *2013:

Philippe Le Guay Philippe Le Guay (born 22 October 1956) is a French screenwriter, film director and occasional actor. He studied film at the IDHEC and began his career as a screenwriter before directing his first feature film ''Les Deux Fragonard'' in 1989. He i ...

*2014:

Robert Guédiguian Robert Jules Guédiguian (born 3 December 1953) is a French film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. Most of his films star Ariane Ascaride and Jean-Pierre Darroussin. Life and career Guédiguian is the son of a German mother and an Armen ...

*2015:

Jacques Perrin Jacques Perrin (born Jacques André Simonet; 13 July 1941 – 21 April 2022) was a French actor and film producer. He was occasionally credited as Jacques Simonet. Early life Jacques André Simonet was born on the Boulevard Port-Royal in P ...

*2016:

Anne Fontaine Anne Fontaine (born Anne-Fontaine Sibertin-Blanc; 15 July 1959) is a Luxembourger film director, screenwriter, and former actress. She lives and works in France. Life and career Born Anne-Fontaine Sibertin-Blanc in Luxembourg, sister of actor ...

*2017: Stéphane Brizé *2018: Bruno Dumont

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rene Clair Award French film awards Awards established in 1994 1994 establishments in France