Director Bertrand Tavernier takes the audience on a deeply personal trip into the world of film via his new documentary, My Journey through French Cinema (Voyage à travers le cinéma français).
Told through portraits of key creative figures, Tavernier’s documentary shares his half century-long love affair with film that began when he was just a boy. Augmented by his voluminous knowledge on the subject that has been a lifetime in the making, he details both the giants of his native cinema — Renoir, Godard, Melville — as well as some frequently overlooked contributors — Edmund T. Gréville and Jean Sacha — in a film full of observations and reminiscences that are an ingenious mix of the personal and the historical.
My Journey through French Cinema was nominated for the Golden Eye Award at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the 2017 César Award for Best Documentary Film.
Following the DGA Special Projects Committee’s Documentary Series screening in the Guild's Los Angeles Theater on June 19, Tavernier discussed the making of the film in a conversation moderated by DGA Special Projects Documentary Series Subcommittee Chair Chuck Workman (Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles.)
Considered one of the grand old men of the cinema, Tavernier has helmed more than 30 projects. In addition to My Journey through French Cinema, his filmography includes the critically acclaimed features ‘Round Midnight, Coup de torchon and Capitaine Conan, as well as the award-winning features The Clockmaker of St. Paul, Life and Nothing But, Fresh Bait, It All Starts Today and A Sunday in the Country. Tavernier has been a DGA member since 2007.
You can listen to Tavernier's Q&A by clicking the podcast episode embedded below. You can find all DGA podcast episodes here.