Truffaut

François Truffaut (February 6, 1932 – October 21, 1984) was a French film director, screenwriter, and actor who became one of the leading figures of the French New Wave. Truffaut helped popularize the auteur theory in cinema through his critiques at Cahiers du Cinéma and through films that emphasized personal vision, character-driven storytelling, location shooting, and improvisation.

His feature debut, The 400 Blows (1959), is a landmark of New Wave cinema and follows Antoine Doinel, a troubled adolescent in Paris. The character would recur across several films, forming a loosely connected Doinel series that includes Stolen Kisses (1968), Bed and Board (1970), and Love on the Run (1979). Other influential works include Jules and Jim (1962), Shoot the Piano Player (1960), and Day for Night (La Nuit américaine, 1973), a metafilm about filmmaking that won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Truffaut’s films are noted for their emotional clarity, humanistic approach, and formally assured style—often blending drama with humor and using mobile camera work. He frequently collaborated with actors such as Jean-Pierre Léaud and Catherine Deneuve, and he remained active in film theory and criticism alongside his directing career.

In later years, he directed The Last Metro (1980), a wartime drama starring Catherine Deneuve, and continued to influence generations of filmmakers. Truffaut died in 1984 from a brain tumor; his work remains influential for its intimate and humane storytelling and its lasting impact on world cinema.