Jacques Doniol Valcroze

New Wave

In his thirties he played a pivotal role in the French New Wave, discussing the beginnings of "the new cinema" as the co-founder of Cahiers du cinéma and defended Alain Robbe-Grillet. His own works in this area include directing the film L'Eau à la bouche and acting in some New Wave films, including Chantal Akerman's cult classic Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles. Additionally he was friends with François Truffaut who shot his very 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 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."