Cécile Decugis (May 15, 1930 – June 11, 2017) was a French film editor and director, known for her contributions to the

French New Wave The New Wave (, ), also called the French New Wave, is a French European art cinema, art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentat ...

cinema. She worked on iconic films such as '' Breathless'' by Jean-Luc Godard and ''

Shoot the Piano Player ''Shoot the Piano Player'' (; UK title: ''Shoot the Pianist'') is a 1960 French New Wave crime drama film directed by François Truffaut that stars Charles Aznavour as the titular pianist with Marie Dubois, Nicole Berger, and Michèle Mercier ...

'' by François Truffaut. Decugis was also a longtime collaborator of director Éric Rohmer, editing nine of his feature films, including ''

My Night at Maud’s ''My Night at Maud's'' (), also known as ''My Night with Maud'' (UK), is a 1969 French New Wave drama film by Éric Rohmer. It is the third film (fourth in order of release) in his series of ''Six Moral Tales''. Over the Christmas break in the Fr ...

''.

Early life and career

Cécile Régine Decugis was born in Marseille, France, on May 15, 1930. In the 1950s, she became involved with the Algerian independence movement and worked on several films related to the cause. One of her first directorial efforts was the 1957 short documentary '' Les Réfugiés'', which depicted the plight of Algerian war refugees along the Algerian-Tunisian border. Parallel to her activism, Decugis gained recognition as an editor, working on short films by François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard, two leading figures of the

Nouvelle Vague The New Wave (, ), also called the French New Wave, 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 i ...

. Her editing work on '' Breathless'' (1960) is considered groundbreaking for its innovative

jump cuts A jump cut is a cut in film editing that breaks a single continuous sequential shot of a subject into two parts, with a piece of footage removed to create the effect of jumping forward in time. Camera positioning on the subject across the seque ...

, which became a signature style of the movement.

Political involvement and imprisonment

On March 9, 1960, while working with Truffaut on ''

'', Decugis was arrested in Paris for having rented an apartment to a member of the

Algerian National Liberation Front The National Liberation Front (; ), commonly known by its French acronym FLN, is a nationalist political party in Algeria. It was the main nationalist movement during the Algerian War and the sole legal and ruling political party of the Algerian ...

. She was sentenced to five years in prison and served two years at La Roquette prison. During this time, Truffaut provided her with financial support. She was released early due to good behavior.

Collaboration with Éric Rohmer

Decugis became Éric Rohmer’s primary editor in the late 1960s, editing many of his most acclaimed films, including ''

'' (1969), ''

Claire’s Knee ''Claire's Knee'' () is a 1970 French romantic drama film written and directed by Éric Rohmer. It follows a soon-to-be-married man and his conflicted relationship with two teenage girls. The film stars Jean-Claude Brialy, Aurora Cornu, Béatric ...

'' (1970), and ''

The Marquise of O ''The Marquise of O'' () is a novella by Heinrich von Kleist on the subject of forced seduction. It was first published in 1808. Synopsis The story begins with a one-sentence paragraph – the widowed Marquise von O. places an announcement in t ...

'' (1976). Her precise and thoughtful editing style greatly contributed to the quiet, introspective atmosphere of Rohmer’s films.

Later work and legacy

In addition to her work as an editor, Decugis directed a number of short and medium-length films. Her 2016 film, '' René ou le roman de mon père'', was a personal documentary featuring family photos and reflections on her father, who died of tuberculosis at the age of 37. Decugis passed away in Boulogne-Billancourt, France, on June 11, 2017, at the age of 87. After her death, her directorial work was screened at retrospectives at the Cinémathèque Française in 2017 and the Il Cinema Ritrovato festival in 2018.

Selected filmography

As editor

*''

Les Mistons ''Les Mistons'' (''The Mischief Makers'') is a French short film written and directed by François Truffaut in 1957. It was his second film after '' Une Visite'' in 1955 but it is considered his "first short film of any real consequence". Truffaut ...

'' (1957) – dir. François Truffaut (short) *'' Breathless'' (1960) – dir. Jean-Luc Godard *''

'' (1960) – dir. François Truffaut *''

'' (1969) – dir. Éric Rohmer *''

'' (1970) – dir. Éric Rohmer *''

'' (1976) – dir. Éric Rohmer *''

Pauline at the Beach ''Pauline at the Beach'' () is a 1983 French romantic comedy film directed by Éric Rohmer. The film stars Amanda Langlet, Arielle Dombasle, Pascal Greggory and Féodor Atkine. It is the third in the 1980s series ' by Rohmer. Plot A car pulls up i ...

'' (1983) – dir. Éric Rohmer *''

Full Moon in Paris Full may refer to: * People with the surname Full, including: ** Mr. Full (given name unknown), acting Governor of German Cameroon, 1913 to 1914 * A property in the mathematical field of topology; see Full set * A property of functors in the math ...

'' (1984) – dir. Éric Rohmer

As director

*''Les Réfugiés'' (1957) – Documentary short *''Le Passage'' (1965) – Medium-length film *''Italie aller retour'' (1984) – Medium-length film *''La Distribution de pain'' (2011) – Documentary *''René ou le roman de mon père'' (2016) – Documentary

References

Literature

* Hervé Hamon, Patrick Rotman, ''Les Porteurs de valises : la Résistance française à la guerre d'Algérie'', Albin Michel, 1982 * Declan McGrath, ''Editing & post-production'', Focal Press, 2001 {{DEFAULTSORT:Decugis, Cecile French film editors French women film editors French film directors French women film directors 1930 births People from Marseille 2017 deaths