Rialto Pictures

"THE MOST LEARNED AND SOPHISTICATED OF FRENCH FILM DIRECTORS!"
— The Independent (UK)

Bertrand Tavernier (1941 – 2021) was born in Lyon, France on April 25, 1941. Younger than the French New Wave generation of filmmakers, Tavernier started his career working for producer Georges de Beauregard and contributing to Cahiers du Cinéma. Tavernier made his debut as a writer-director with The Clockmaker of Saint Paul (1974), which won him the Prix Louis Delluc and the Silver Berlin Bear. Among his many award-winning films, Tavernier directed The Judge and the Assassin (1976), Coup de Torchon (1981), 'Round Midnight (1986), Life and Nothing But (1989), Captain Conan (1996), Safe Conduct (2002), and, his final film, My Journey Through French Cinema (2016).

Tavernier was a respected film historian, the author of 50 Years of American Cinema, and a tireless champion of the work of Hollywood and French golden age directors. Tavernier died on March 25, 2021 at the age of 79.