François Truffaut _French Director

François Truffaut  was one of the founders of the French New Wave in filmmaking, and remains an icon of theFrench film industry. In a film career lasting just over a quarter of a century, he was screenwriter,director, producer or actor in over twenty-five films.

The 400 Blows  is considered his best film, one of the top french films ever. It was released in 1959 to much critical and commercial acclaim. Truffaut received a Best Director award from the Cannes Film Festival, the same festival that had banned him only one year earlier. The film follows the character of Antoine Doinel through his perilous misadventures in school, an unhappy home life and later reform school. The film is highly autobiographical. Both Truffaut and Doinel were only children of loveless marriages; they both committed petty crimes of theft and truancy from the military. Truffaut cast Jean-Pierre Léaud as Antoine Doinel. Léaud was just an ordinary guy who auditioned for the role after seeing a flyer.

Ohter must see films of his are: Jule & Jim, Shoot The Piano Player, Day For Night, The Story Of Adele H, & The Last Metro