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'', along with André Bazin and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca. The magazine was initially edited by Doniol-Valcroze between 1951–1957. As critic, he championed numerous filmmakers including

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

François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French filmmaker, actor, and critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. He came under the tutelage of film critic Andre Bazin as a ...

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, and in 1964 a member of the jury at the 14th Berlin International Film Festival.

New Wave

In his thirties he played a pivotal role in 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 ...

, discussing the beginnings of "the new cinema" as the co-founder of '' Cahiers du cinéma'' 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'' () trend of the 1960s, along with Nathalie Sarraute, Michel Butor and Claude Simo ...

. Jean Douchet wrote that no one had a better New Wave profile, but his work "was overshadowed by the immediate influence of the second generation" of New Wave directors: "His first feature film, ''l'Eau à la bouche'' (1960), arrived too late. Not strong enough to surprise, the film earned him only 'sympathetic' reviews. From then on ... criticism displayed a certain distance from the man. Wrongly, it seems." In 1963 he appeared in '' L'Immortelle'', an international co-produced

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

art film An art film, arthouse film, or specialty film is 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 prima ...

directed by

. His own works in this area include directing the film '' L'eau a la bouche'' and acting in some New Wave films, including Chantal Akerman's

cult classic A cult following is a group of Fan (person), fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some List of art media, medium. The latter is often cal ...

'' Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles''. Additionally he was friends with

who shot his first film '' Une Visite'' in his apartment. He was married to Françoise Brion. The Director’s Fortnight, founded in 1968 during the nationwide strikes which closed down the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

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) * 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