Jacques Doniol-Valcroze (; 15 March 1920 – 6 October 1989) was a French actor, critic, screenwriter, and director. In 1951, Doniol-Valcroze was a co-founder of the renowned film magazine ''

Cahiers du cinéma ''Cahiers du Cinéma'' (, ) is a French film magazine co-founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca.Itzkoff, Dave (9 February 2009''Cahiers Du Cinéma Will Continue to Publish''The New York TimesMacnab ...

'', along with

André Bazin André Bazin (; 18 April 1918 – 11 November 1958) was a renowned and influential French film critic and film theorist. Bazin started to write about film in 1943 and was a co-founder of the renowned film magazine ''Cahiers du cinéma'' in 1951, ...

and

Joseph-Marie Lo Duca Joseph-Marie Lo Duca (; 18 November 1905 or 1910 – 6 August 2004) was an Italian-born journalist, novelist, art critic, and film historian best known as the co-founder in 1951 of the influential French magazine ''Cahiers du Cinéma'' with André B ...

. The magazine was initially edited by Doniol-Valcroze between 1951-1957. As critic, he championed numerous filmmakers including

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 ...

Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American director who is not a household name." A ...

, and Nicholas Ray. In 1955, then 23-year-old

François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. After a career of more th ...

made a short film in Doniol-Valcroze's apartment, '' Une Visite''. Jacques's daughter Florence played a minor part in it. In 1955, he was a member of the jury at the

16th Venice International Film Festival The 16th Venice International Film Festival was held from 25 August to 10 September 1955. Film critic Mario Gromo was appointed as the President of the Jury. The Golden Lion was awarded to ''Ordet'', directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer. Jury Main ...

, and in 1964 a member of the jury at the

14th Berlin International Film Festival The 14th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 26 June to 7 July 1964. The Swedish film ''491 (film), 491'' by Vilgot Sjöman was rejected by festival director ''Alfred Bauer'' owing to its controversial nature. The Golden Bear ...

New Wave

In his thirties he played a pivotal role in the

French New Wave French New Wave (french: La Nouvelle Vague) is a French art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentation and a spirit of iconocla ...

, discussing the beginnings of "the new cinema" as the co-founder of ''

'' and defended

Alain Robbe-Grillet Alain Robbe-Grillet (; 18 August 1922 – 18 February 2008) was a French writer and filmmaker. He was one of the figures most associated with the '' Nouveau Roman'' (new novel) trend of the 1960s, along with Nathalie Sarraute, Michel Butor and ...

. In 1963 he appeared in ''

L'Immortelle ''L'Immortelle'' is a 1963 international co-produced drama film directed by Alain Robbe-Grillet, his first feature after the worldwide success of Last Year at Marienbad which he wrote. Entered into the 13th Berlin International Film Festival, it ...

'', an international co-produced

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

art film An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily f ...

directed by

. His own works in this area include directing the film ''

L'eau a la bouche ''L’eau à la bouche'' is a 1960 French film directed by Jacques Doniol-Valcroze and starring Françoise Brion, Bernadette Lafont and Alexandra Stewart. Plot Miléna (Brion) is living in her grandmother's château when the rich lady dies. ...

'' and acting in some New Wave films, including

Chantal Akerman Chantal Anne Akerman (; 6 June 19505 October 2015) was a Belgian film director, screenwriter, artist, and film professor at the City College of New York. She is best known for films such as ''Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles' ...

cult classic A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles ''Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles'' (, "Jeanne Dielman, 23 Commerce Quay, 1080 Brussels") is a 1975 drama film written and directed by Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman. It was filmed over five weeks on location in Brussels, ...

''. Additionally he was friends with

who shot his first film '' Une Visite'' in his apartment. He was married to

Françoise Brion Françoise Brion (; born 29 January 1933) is a French film actress. She has appeared in 75 films since 1957. She starred in the 1963 film '' L'Immortelle'', which was entered into the 13th Berlin International Film Festival. She was married to J ...

. The

Director’s Fortnight The Directors' Fortnight (french: Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) is an independent selection of the Cannes Film Festival. It was started in 1969 by the French Directors Guild after the events of May 1968 resulted in cancellation of the Cannes festiv ...

, founded in 1968 during the nationwide strikes which closed down 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 ...

that year, was the brainchild of Jacques Doniol-Valcroze. The event was sponsored by his fledgling Société des Réalisateurs de Films (Film Directors Society) with the intention of "...opening up the Cannes Festival to little-known filmmakers and national cinemas, without concern for budgets or shooting formats." He died of a ruptured aneurysm in 1989.

Actor

Director

Movies * 1957: L'Œil du maître (short film) * 1958: Les Surmenés (short film) * 1958: Bonjour, Monsieur La Bruyère (short film) * 1959: L'Eau à la bouche ( A Game for Six Lovers * 1960: Le Cœur battant ( The French Game (film)) * 1961: La Dénonciation * 1962: P.X.O. (short film) with Pierre Kast * 1965: Jean-Luc Godard (short film) * 1967: Le Viol (

The Immoral Moment ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

) * 1970: La Maison des Bories ( The House of the Bories) * 1971: L'Homme au cerveau greffé * 1977: Une femme fatale TV films and series * 1964: L'Enlèvement d'Antoine Bigut (film) * 1967: La Bien-aimée (film) * 1979: Le Tourbillon des jours (TV series, 6 episodes, 52 min.) * 1981: Les Fiancées de l'Empire (TV series, 6 episodes) * 1982: Lorelei (film) * 1982: Venise en hiver (film) * 1984: Un seul être vous manque (TV series, 8 episodes, 52 min.) * 1988: Nick, chasseur de têtes (film) * 1989: Nick, chasseur de têtes (TV series) 1989: La Vie en couleurs (film)

Novels

* Les portes du baptistère, 1955, Editions Denoël * Les fiancées de l'Empire, vol. 1: Les hauteurs de Wagram, 1980, Editions JC Lattès * Les fiancées de l'Empire, vol. 2: La route d'Espagne, 1981, Editions JC Lattès *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doniol-Valcroze, Jacques 1920 births 1989 deaths French male film actors French film critics Male actors from Paris 20th-century French male actors French male non-fiction writers 20th-century French male writers Cahiers du Cinéma editors