Éric Gautier (born 2 April 1961) is a French

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

. He has received numerous accolades for his work, including a

César Award Cesar or César may refer to: Arts and entertainment * César (film), ''César'' (film), a 1936 French romantic drama * César (film), ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt Places * Cesar, Portugal * Cesar Department, Colombia * Cesar R ...

for '' Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train'' and an

Independent Spirit Award The Independent Spirit Awards, originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards, and later as the Film Independent Spirit Awards, are awards presented annually in Santa Monica, California, to independent filmmakers. Founded in ...

for '' The Motorcycle Diaries''.

Early life

Gautier was born and raised in Paris; he grew up in its eleventh, twelfth, nineteenth and twentieth arrondissements with his construction engineer father, mother, and younger sister. During his youth he excelled in music, and from the age of eleven played the piano and organ. He originally aspired to become a professional musician before becoming disillusioned with the field and deciding to pursue a career in cinema instead, which he felt combined many different creative pursuits. He attended the film school of the Louis Lumière College.

Career

After graduating from the in 1982, Gautier began work as an assistant camera operator director on

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 short films including '' Night and Fog ...

's film ''

Life Is a Bed of Roses Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, organisation, metabolism, growth, adaptation, respo ...

''. He left the job soon after, however, and chose instead to work as the

director of photography The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

s. He shot 60 films before returning to feature film work. The first feature-length film he photographed was ''La Vie des morts'', released in 1991 and directed by

Arnaud Desplechin Arnaud Desplechin (; born 31 October 1960) is a French film director and screenwriter. In 2016, he won the César Award for Best Director for ''My Golden Days'' (2015). He has also written and directed the films ''The Sentinel (1992 film), The Sen ...

. He won a

for his cinematography on '' Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train'' (1998), and received nominations for his work on '' Sentimental Destinies'' (2000), '' Clean'' (2004), '' Gabrielle'' (2005), '' Private Fears in Public Places'' (2006), and ''

A Christmas Tale ''A Christmas Tale'' () is a 2008 French Christmas comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Arnaud Desplechin, starring Catherine Deneuve, Jean-Paul Roussillon, Mathieu Amalric, Anne Consigny, Melvil Poupaud, Emmanuelle Devos and Chiara ...

'' (2008). He has worked on many other French films, collaborating most often with Resnais and the directors

Olivier Assayas Olivier Assayas (; born 25 January 1955) is a French film director, screenwriter and film critic. Assayas is known for his eclectic filmography, consisting of slow-burning Period Piece Films, period pieces, psychological thrillers, neo-noirs, an ...

, and

Claude Berri Claude Berri (; 1 July 1934 – 12 January 2009) was a French film director, writer, producer, actor and distributor. Early life Born Claude Beri Langmann in Paris, Berri was the son of Jewish immigrant parents. His mother, Beila (née Bercu), ...

. Gautier began working in the international film in the early 2000s, beginning with '' The Motorcycle Diaries'', for which he won the

Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography The Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography is one of the annual awards given out by Film Independent, a non-profit organization dedicated to independent film and independent filmmakers. It was first given in 1985, with Japanese cinemato ...

and the

2004 Cannes Film Festival The 57th Cannes Film Festival took place from 12 to 23 May 2004. American filmmaker Quentin Tarantino served as jury president for the main competition. While American filmmaker Michael Moore won the Palme d'Or for the documentary film '' Fahrenh ...

Technical Grand Prize, and was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography. After seeing ''The Motorcycle Diaries'', American actor/filmmaker

Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is known for his intense leading man roles in film. List of awards and nominations received by Sean Penn, His accolades include two Academy Awards, a Golden Gl ...

approached Gautier to shoot the 2007 film '' Into the Wild'', for which he won a Lumière Award. He subsequently served as director of photography on the American films '' Taking Woodstock'' (2009) and '' Grace of Monaco'' (2014).

Filmography

Film

Short films

Television

Personal life

Gautier was married until 1995, when his wife Valentine died from cancer at the age of 32. His current partner is Nathalie Boutefeu, an actress with whom he has two daughters, Suzanne and Angela.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gautier, Eric Living people 1961 births Cinematographers from Paris Best Cinematography César Award winners BAFTA winners (people)