French Cinema: Early, Rare Short Films of the French New Wave
Starting in the mid-1950s, a group of talented young filmmakers presented a radically new vision of French cinema. Dubbed the “Young Turks” by Cahiers du Cinéma co-founder André Bazin, they overturned the studio-based industry of the day, creating films that were modern, political... and funny. The group included François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Agnès Varda, Éric Rohmer, and more. The short films in this collection represent the dawn of the New Wave— the earliest works of its most emblematic auteurs. Produced between 1957 and 1965, these shorts are not just stepping stones on the way to the famed New Wave features, but classics that stand on their own.
Pierre Braunberger, the visionary producer of these films, was an iconoclast and film lover, and among those who broke with French post-war cinema. He supported the New Wave filmmakers, guiding them in their work and financing their early efforts. These films are the first forays of a movement that would revolutionize the world of French film and influence cinema around the world for decades to come.
This course is open to all levels of learners.
French Cinema: Early, Rare Short Films of the French New Wave
Starting in the mid-1950s, a group of talented young filmmakers presented a radically new vision of French cinema. Dubbed the “Young Turks” by Cahiers du Cinéma co-founder André Bazin, they overturned the studio-based industry of the day, creating films that were modern, political... and funny. The group included François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Agnès Varda, Éric Rohmer, and more. The short films in this collection represent the dawn of the New Wave— the earliest works of its most emblematic auteurs. Produced between 1957 and 1965, these shorts are not just stepping stones on the way to the famed New Wave features, but classics that stand on their own.
Pierre Braunberger, the visionary producer of these films, was an iconoclast and film lover, and among those who broke with French post-war cinema. He supported the New Wave filmmakers, guiding them in their work and financing their early efforts. These films are the first forays of a movement that would revolutionize the world of French film and influence cinema around the world for decades to come.
This course is open to all levels of learners.
For the program of films this semester, please visit: https://www.lunionfrancaise.org/french-cinema
