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Jean Douchet Passed Away
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It is with grief we say goodbye to Jean Douchet, a central figure in French cinema. A critic, historian, director, writer and professor of cinema, Douchet just left us at 90 years of age, after an impressive career.
After graduating in Philosophy, Douchet began collaborate on La Gazette du Cinéma and later on Cahiers du Cinéma, where he met other critics who’d come to found the French Nouvelle Vague, such as Rohmer, Godard, Chabrol or Truffaut.
He stood out since the beginning for his sharp critical eye and authored some important works on Alfred Hitchcock and the Nouvelle Vague, later also creating noteworthy analysis on filmmakers such as Murnau, Mizoguchi, Vincente Minelli, Kurosawa and Jean-Daniel Pollet (it is through Douchet the Cahiers discover Serge Daney, who would become one of the magazine’s most iconic critics).
As a professor of film analysis, at the Institut des Hautes Études Cinématographiques and its heir La Fémis, he shaped some of the young directors he taught and whom he later worked with, such as François Ozon, Émilie Deleuze and Xavier Beauvois.
Whilst developer of cinematic culture, Douchet kept for several years a weekly cine-club at the French Cinematheque, encompassing analysis and debates with the audience.
LEFFEST paid homage to the critic and filmmaker in 2015, with a retrospective on his work entitled “The Art of Love from Jean Douchet”. The author also attended the 2016 and 2017 editions.
Jean Douchet leaves behind him an indelible mark on the history of cinema.
Find some of the special moments created by Douchet at LEFFEST:
LEFFEST'16 Masculin Féminin - Talk with Jean-Pierre Léaud and Jean Douchet
LEFFEST'16 Histoires du cinéma - Presentation by Jean Douchet
LEFFEST'17 Belle de jour - Talk with Jean Douchet
After graduating in Philosophy, Douchet began collaborate on La Gazette du Cinéma and later on Cahiers du Cinéma, where he met other critics who’d come to found the French Nouvelle Vague, such as Rohmer, Godard, Chabrol or Truffaut.
He stood out since the beginning for his sharp critical eye and authored some important works on Alfred Hitchcock and the Nouvelle Vague, later also creating noteworthy analysis on filmmakers such as Murnau, Mizoguchi, Vincente Minelli, Kurosawa and Jean-Daniel Pollet (it is through Douchet the Cahiers discover Serge Daney, who would become one of the magazine’s most iconic critics).
As a professor of film analysis, at the Institut des Hautes Études Cinématographiques and its heir La Fémis, he shaped some of the young directors he taught and whom he later worked with, such as François Ozon, Émilie Deleuze and Xavier Beauvois.
Whilst developer of cinematic culture, Douchet kept for several years a weekly cine-club at the French Cinematheque, encompassing analysis and debates with the audience.
LEFFEST paid homage to the critic and filmmaker in 2015, with a retrospective on his work entitled “The Art of Love from Jean Douchet”. The author also attended the 2016 and 2017 editions.
Jean Douchet leaves behind him an indelible mark on the history of cinema.
Find some of the special moments created by Douchet at LEFFEST:
LEFFEST'16 Masculin Féminin - Talk with Jean-Pierre Léaud and Jean Douchet
LEFFEST'16 Histoires du cinéma - Presentation by Jean Douchet
LEFFEST'17 Belle de jour - Talk with Jean Douchet