André Téchiné (b. 1943), French screenwriter and film director, began his career as a film critic for Cahiers du Cinéma from 1964-1967, following in the footsteps of noted New Wave filmmakers such as Claude Chabrol, François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard. Before he began directing features, he was assistant director to Jacques Rivette (“L’amour fou,” a.k.a. “Mad Love,” 1969), his editor at Cahiers du Cinéma.

Over the years, Mr. Téchiné has always been praised and admired for his sensitivity when exploring and digging into human relations through the characters in his films. And they have been portrayed by some of the most talented performers of his generation. He made four films with Catherine Deneuve, four with Marie-France Pisier, three with Emmanuelle Béart and Michel Blanc, and two with Gérard Depardieu, Isabelle Adjani and Daniel Auteuil. He was nominated six times for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, won the Festival’s Best Director Award with “Rendez-vous” (1985) starring Juliette Binoche, and has fifteen César nominations to his credit, winning three for “Les roseaux sauvages” (1994, a.k.a. “Wild Reeds”), which also earned him a Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award in the Best Foreign Film category.

He’s deeply impressed by Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood,” and admires Charlie Chaplin and Ingmar Bergman, who both made a film with un valeur testamentique, as he says, referring to “Limelight” (1952) and “Fanny och Alexander” (1982, a.k.a. “Fanny and Alexander”), something he would also like to do—one day.

Now, at age 76, Mr. Téchiné still impresses. After a rewarding career of fifty years in films, he’s still sharp and full of ideas. So when he came over to the Festival International du Film Francophone in Namur, Belgium, to be the president of jury, he knew perfectly well how to get the job done. “I look at it from a practical point of view,” he said, “you evaluate each film you see, one separately from the other, and at the end, you need a sort of global overview. So how do you avoid this competitiveness between the films you get to see? Because you have to keep in mind that each film is a work on its own, you have to avoid comparing films, comparing performances, etc. So each day, we [the jury members] get together and only talk about the film that we have seen that day. We wouldn’t talk about the other films, only about this one film in particular. And then in the end when you have to decide and make up your mind what film you’re going to choose, we put all our cards on the table—all the ideas and opinions we had and covered during the past week or so, and make a final decision.”

This is the entire thirty minutes French-language audio of Mr. Téchiné’s group interview during the FIFF at the Théâtre de Namur, when he also reminisced about his career as one of France’s most outstanding filmmakers.

Festival International du Film Francophone, Namur
October 3, 2019

FILMS

BRIGITTE ET BRIGITTE, a.k.a. BRIGITTE AND BRIGITTE (1966) DIR – SCR Luc Moullet CAM Claude Creton ED Cécile Decugis CAST Colette Descombes, Françoise Vatel, Claude Melki, Michel Gonzalès, Joël Montheilhet, Gilles Chusseau, Claude Chabrol, Samuel Fuller, Éric Rohmer, André Téchiné (Cinephile)

LES IDOLES (1968) DIR – SCR Marc’o ASST DIR André Téchiné, Vincent Gardair PROD Henri Zaphiratos CAM Jean Badal, Gilbert Sarthre ED Jean Eustache, Francine Grubert MUS Stéphane Vilar, Patrick Greussay CAST Pierre Clémenti, Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Marie-Claude Breton, Philippe Bruneau, Michèle Moretti, Joël Barbouth, Bulle Ogier, Bernadette Lafont, André Téchiné (Extra [uncredited])

L’AMOUR FOU, a.k.a. MAD LOVE (1969) DIR Jacques Rivette ASST DIR André Techiné, Philippe Fourastié PROD Roger Scipion, Georges de Beauregard SCR Jacques Rivette, Marilù Parolini CAM Akain Levent, Étienne Becker ED Anne Dubot, Nicole Lubtchansky MUS Jean-Claude Eloy CAST Bulle Ogier, Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Josée Destoop, Michèle Moretti, Celia, Françoise Godde, Maddly Bamy

PAULINE S’EN VA, a.k.a. PAULINE IS LEAVING (1969) DIR André Téchiné PROD Pierre Neurisse SCR (adaptation and dialogue) André Téchiné CAM Jean Gonnet, Pierre-William Glenn ED Roland Pradini, Fabienne Tzanck CAST Bulle Ogier, Yves Beneyton, Michèle Moretti, André Julien, Marie-France Pisier, Dennis Berry, Laura Betti

LA MAMAN ET LA PUTAIN, a.k.a. THE MOTHER AND THE WHORE (1973) DIR – SCR Jean Eustache PROD Bob Rafelson CAM Pierre Lhomme ED Jean Eustache, Denise de Casabianca CAST Bernadette Lafont, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Françoise Lebrun, Isabelle Weingarten, Jacques Renaud, Jean-Noël Picq, Jean Eustache, André Téchiné (Customer at Les Deux Magots [uncredited])

SOUVENIRS D’EN FRANCE, a.k.a. FRENCH PROVINCIAL (1975) DIR André Téchiné PROD Véra Belmont SCR André Téchiné, Marilyn Goldon CAM Bruno Nuytten ED Anne-Marie Deshayes MUS Philippe Sarde CAST Jeanne Moreau, Marie-France Pisier, Michel Auclair, Orane Demazis, Claude Mann, Aran Stephan, Hélène Surgère

ALOÏSE (1975) DIR Liliane de Kermadec PROD Liliane de Kermadec, Guy Cavagnac, Paul Vecchiali, Alain Dahan SCR André Téchiné, Liliane de Kermadec CAM Jean Penzer ED Claudine Merlin CAST Isabelle Huppert, Delphine Seyrig, Marc Eyraud, Michael Lonsdale, Valérie Schoeller, Monique Lejeune, Julien Guiomar

BAROCCO (1976) DIR André Téchiné PROD Alain Sarde, André Génovès SCR André Téchiné, Marilyn Goldin CAM Bruno Nuytten ED Claudine Merlin MUS Philippe Sarde CAST Isabelle Adjani, Gérard Depardieu, Marie-France Pisier, Jean-Claude Brialy, Julien Guiomar, Hélène Surgère, Derek de Lint, Claude Brasseur

LES SOEURS BRONTË, a.k.a. THE BRONTE SISTERS (1979) DIR André Téchiné PROD Yves Peyrot, Yves Gasser, Klaus Hellwig SCR André Téchiné CAM Bruno Nuytten ED Claudine Merlin CAST Isabelle Adjani, Marie-France Pisier, Isabelle Huppert, Pascal Greggory, Patrick Magee, Hélène Surgère

HÔTEL DES AMÉRIQUES, a.k.a. HOTEL AMERICA (1981) DIR André Téchiné PROD Alain Sarde SCR André Téchiné, Gilles Taurand CAM Bruno Nuytten ED Claudine Merlin MUS Philippe Sarde CAST Catherine Deneuve, Patrick Dewaere, Etienne Chicot, Sabine Haudepin, Dominique Levanant, Josiane Balasko, François Perrot

RENDEZ-VOUS, a.k.a. ANDRÉ TÉCHINÉ’S RENDEZ-VOUS (1985) DIR André Téchiné PROD Alain Terzian SCR André Téchiné, Olivier Assayas CAM Renato Berta ED Martine Giordano MUS Philippe Sarde CAST Lambert Wilson, Juliette Binoche, Wadeck Stanczak, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Dominique Lavanant, Anne Wiazemsky, Jean-Louis Vitrac

LE LIEU DU CRIME, a.k.a. SCENE OF THE CRIME (1986) DIR André Téchiné PROD Alain Terzian SCR André Téchiné, Olivier Assayas, Pascal Bonitzer CAM Pascal Marti ED Suzanne Koch, Martine Giordano MUS Philippe Sarde CAST Catherine Deneuve, Danielle Darrieux, Wadeck Stanzack, Victor Lanoux, Jean-Claude Adelin, Jean Bousquet

LES INNOCENTS, a.k.a. THE INNOCENTS (1987) DIR André Téchiné PROD Alain Terzian, Philippe Carcassonne SCR André Techiné, Pascal Bonitzer CAM Renato Berta ED Martine Giordano MUS Philippe Sarde CAST Sandrine Bonnaire, Simon de la Brosse, Abdel Kechiche, Jean-Claude Brialy, Tanya Lopert, Jacques Nolot, Christine Paolini

J’EMBRASSE PAS, a.k.a. I DON’T KISS (1991) DIR André Téchiné PROD Jacques-Eric Strauss, Maurice Bernart, Jean Labadie SCR André Téchiné, Jacques Nolot, Michel Grisolia (story by Jacques Nolot) CAM Thierry Arbogast ED Claudine Merlin, Edith Vassard MUS Philippe Sarde CAST Philippe Noiret, Emmanuelle Béart, Michel Blanc, Hélène Vincent, Ivan Desney, Christophe Bernard, Roschdy Zem

MAUVAISE FILLE (1991) DIR Régis Franc PROD Sylvette Frydman SCR André Téchiné, Régis Franc, Michèle Andreucci CAM Jean-Claude Larrieu ED Jean-François Naudon CAST Izia Higelin, Carole Bouquet, Arthur Dupont, Bob Geldof, Yvan Attal, Christian Vadim, Florence Pernel

MA SAISON PRÉFÉRÉE, a.k.a. MY FAVORITE SEASON (1993) DIR André Téchiné PROD Alain Sarde SCR André Téchiné, Pascal Bonitzer CAM Thierry Arbogast ED Martine Giordano MUS Philippe Sarde CAST Catherine Deneuve, Daniel Auteuil, Marthe Villalonga, Michèle Moretti, Chiara Mastroianni, Carmen Chaplin, Jean-Pierre Bouvier, Roschdy Zem

LES ROSEAUX SAUVAGES, a.k.a. WILD REEDS (1994) DIR André Téchiné PROD Alain Sarde, Georges Benayoun SCR André Téchiné, Gilles Taraund, Olivier Massart CAM Jeanne Lapoirie ED Martine Giordano CAST Élodie Bouchez, Gaël Morel, Stéphane Rideau, Frédéric Gorny, Michèle Moretti, Jacques Nolot, Michel Ruhl

LES VOLEURS, a.k.a. THIEVES (1996) DIR André Téchiné PROD Alain Sarde SCR André Téchiné, Gilles Taurand CAM Jeanne Lapoirie ED Martine Giordano MUS Philippe Sarde CAST Catherine Deneuve, Daniel Auteuil, Laurence Côte, Benoît Magimel, Fabienne Babe, Didier Bezace, Julien Rivière, Ivan Desny, Chiara Mastroianni

TRANSATLANTIQUE (1996) DIR Christine Laurent PROD Paulo Branco SCR André Téchiné, Christine Laurent, Philippe Arnaud CAM Jeanne Lapoirie ED Rudolfo Wedeles MUS Jorge Arriagada CAST Laurence Côte, Joaquin Olarreaga, Héctor Spinelli, Monique Mélimand, Julio Calcagno, José Oliveira, Evelyne Didi

ALICE ET MARTIN, a.k.a. ALICE AND MARTIN (1998) DIR André Téchiné PROD Alain Sarde SCR André Téchiné, Olivier Assayas, Gilles Taurand CAM Caroline Champetier ED Martine Giordano MUS Philippe Sarde CAST Juliette Binoche, Alexis Loret, Mathieu Amalric, Carmen Maura, Jean-Pierre Lorit, Marthe Villalonga, Roschdy Zem

LOIN, a.k.a. FAR (2001) DIR André Téchiné PROD Saïd Ben Saïd SCR André Téchiné, Faouzi Bensaïdi CAM Germain Desmoulins ED Hervé de Luze MUS Juliette Garrigues CAST Stéphane Rideau, Lubna Azabal, Mohamed Hamaidi, Yasmina Reza, Jack Taylor, Gaël Morel, Rachida Brakni, Faouzi Bensaïdi

CAFÉ DE LA PLAGE, a.k.a. BEACH CAFE (2001) DIR Benoît Graffin PROD Pauline Duhault, Cyriac Auriol SCR André Téchiné, Benoît Grafin (novel “Le café de la plage” by Mohammed Mrabet) CAM Yorick Le Saux ED Camille Cotte MUS Philippe Miller CAST Jacques Nolot, Ouassini Embarek, Leïla Belarbi, Delia Amrani, Meriem Serbah, Mohamed El Hasnaoui, Ayoub Rachati

LES ÉGARÉS, a.k.a. STRAYED (2003) DIR André Téchiné PROD Jean-Pierre Ramsay-Levi SCR André Téchiné, Gilles Taurand (novel by Gilles Perrault) CAM Agnès Godard ED Martine Giordano MUS Philippe Sarde CAST Emmanuelle Béart, Gaspard Ulliel, Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet, Cléménce Meyer, Samuel Labarthe, Jean Fornerod

LES TEMPS QUI CHANGENT, a.k.a. CHANGING TIMES (2004) DIR André Téchiné PROD Paulo Branco SCR André Téchiné, Pascal Bonitzer, Laurent Guyot CAM Julien Hirsch ED Martine Giordano MUS Juliette Garrigues CAST Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu, Gilbert Melki, Malik Zidi, Lubna Azabal, Tanya Lopert, Nabila Baraka, Idir Elomri

LES TÉMOINS, a.k.a. THE WITNESSES (2007) DIR André Téchiné PROD Saïd Ben Saïd SCR André Téchiné, Laurent Guyot, Viviane Zingg (idea by Michel Canesi, Jamil Rahmani) CAM Julien Hirsch ED Martine Giordano MUS Philippe Sarde CAST Michel Blanc, Emmanuelle Béart, Sami Bouajila, Julie Depardieu, Johan Libéreau, Constance Dollé, Lorenzo Balducci

LA FILLE DE RER, a.k.a. THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN (2009) DIR André Téchiné PROD Saïd Ben Saïd SCR André Téchiné, Jean-Marie Besset, Odile Barski (play by Jean-Marie Besset) CAM Julien Hirsch ED Martine Giordano MUS Philippe Sarde CAST Émilie Dequenne, Catherine Deneuve, Michel Blanc, Ronit Elkabetz, Mathieu Demy, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Jérémy Quaegebeur

IMPARDONNABLES, a.k.a. UNFORGIVABLE (2011) DIR André Téchiné PROD Saïd Ben Saïd SCR André Téchiné, Mehdi Ben Attia (novel by Philippe Dijan) CAM Julien Hirsch ED Hervé de Luze MUS Max Richter CAST André Dussollier, Carole Bouquet, Mélanie Thierry, Adriana Asti, Mauro Conté, Alexis Loret, Zoé Duthion

L’HOMME QU’ON AMAIT TROP, a.k.a. IN THE NAME OF MY DAUGHTER (2014) DIR André Téchiné PROD Olivier Delbosc, Marc Missonnier SCR André Téchiné, Renée Le Roux, Cédric Anger (book by Renée Le Roux) CAM Julien Hirsch ED Hervé de Luze MUS Benjamin Biolay CAST Catherine Deneuve, Guillaume Canet, Adèle Haenel, Judith Chemla, Mauro Conté, Jean Corso, Hugo Sablic, Jean-Pierre Getti

QUAND ON A 17 ANS, a.k.a. BEING 17 (2016) DIR André Téchiné PROD Olivier Delbosc, Marc Missonnier SCR André Téchiné, Céline Sciamma CAM Julien Hirsch ED Albertine Lastera MUS Alexis Rault CAST Sandrine Kimberlain, Kacey Mottet Klein, Corentin Fila, Jean Corso, Alexis Loret, Jean Fornerod, Mama Prassinos, Rémi Garcia

NOS ANNÉES FOLLES, a.k.a. GOLDEN YEARS (2017) DIR André Téchiné PROD Michèle Pétin, Laurent Pétin SCR André Téchiné, Cédric Anger (book by Fabrice Virgili, Danièle Voldman) CAM Julien Hirsch ED Albertine Lastera MUS Alexis Rault CAST Pierre Deladonchamps, Céline Sallette, Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet, Michel Fau, Virginie Pradel, Mama Prassimos, Anthony Bajon

L’ADIEU À LA NUIT, a.k.a. FAREWELL TO THE NIGHT (2019) DIR André Téchiné PROD Olivier Delbosc SCR André Téchiné, Léa Mysius (original idea by André Téchiné, Amer Alwan) CAM Julien Hirsch ED Albertine Lastera MUS Alexis Rault CAST Catherine Deneuve, Kacey Mottet Klein, Oulaya Amamra, Stéphane Back, Kamel Ladroudi, Mohamed Djouhri, Amer Alwan, Jacques Nolot