André Delvaux

André Albert Auguste Delvaux 21 March 1926 4 October 2002 was a Belgian film director He cofounded the film school INSAS in 1962 and is regarded as the founder of the Belgian national cinema Adapting works by writers such as Johan Daisne Julien Gracq and Marguerite Yourcenar he received international attention for directing magic realist films Delvaux received the Louis Delluc Prize for Rendezvous at Bray 1971 and the André Cavens Award for Woman Between Wolf and Dog 1979 and The Abyss 1988 The king of Belgium made him a baron in 1996 The Académie André Delvaux is named after him and he posthumously received the first Honorary Magritte Award in 2011 André Albert Auguste Delvaux was born in Heverlee Belgium on 21 March 1926 He studied piano at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels and worked as a silent film pianist at the Belgian cinématheque in his early 20s He studied law and took a degree in German philology at the Free University of Brussels after which he worked as a teacher Delvauxs filmmaking career started in 1954 when he began to make television documentaries about film directors for the broadcaster RTB Notably he made a fourpart series about Federico Fellini in 1960 In 1959 he codirected a short fiction film with Jean Brismée La Planète fauve In 1962 he cofounded the film school INSAS in Brussels and became the director of its directing department From that point cinema was his primary occupation Delvauxs first two feature films were based on books by Johan Daisne Delvaux received international attention for his first feature film The Man Who Had His Hair Cut Short 1965 which is based on Johan Daisnes novel with the same title It was followed by another Daisne adaptation One Night A Train in 1968 His first colour film it shares several elements with the previous film an uncomfortable teacher a tragic ending and a confrontation between love and death Rendezvous at Bray 1971 loosely based Julien Gracqs novella King Cophetua is set during World War I and places great emphasis on atmosphere The film stars Mathieu Carrière Roger Van Hool Bulle Ogier and Anna Karina and became a turning point in Delvauxs career because its critical success allowed him to choose his subjects more freely Belle 1973 is about an affair with a mistress who may or may not be imaginary Woman Between Wolf and Dog 1979 set in Germanoccupied Flanders during World War II is among Delvauxs more realist films It is about a woman who is torn between the Belgian Resistance and her collaborationist husband The painterly Benvenuta 1983 based on Suzanne Lilars book La Confession anonyme plays with reality and imagination through a story about a screenwriter who adapts a novel for film Delvauxs last feature film was his largest project The Abyss 1988 The film is an episodic drama set in 16thcentury Europe and based on a book by Marguerite Yourcenar Like Belle and Woman Between Wolf and Dog before it The Abyss played in the main competition of the Cannes Film Festival Delvauxs final short film 1001 films was shown as a special screening at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival Source Article André Delvaux from Wikipedia in English licensed under CCBYSA 30