A revered filmmaker and life-long fan of cinema, Tavernier addresses the camera directly to speak about the films he loves, characterising cinema as ‘a collective art’. Directors, screenwriters, actors and producers, the pioneering use of music, and composers in French cinema, the list is exhaustive – Renoir, Truffaut, Godard, Marcel Carné, Jean Duvivier, Jean Vigo, Edmond T. Gréville, Jean-Pierre Melville, and more… Dedicated to Jacques Becker and Claude Sautet this fascinating documentary is filled with rare footage and interviews.

Director’s note: Watching French cinema from the 1930s to the 1970s through Bertrand Tavernier’s eyes is a thrilling and evocative experience.

Screening as part of the IFI French Film Festival 2016