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François Truffaut Biography

Birth Place:

Paris, France

Profession

Director

Fast Facts

Never met his biological father
Joined the French Army in 1950 at age 18
As a film critic was notorious for unflinching reviews of films he did not like and of the state of French cinema in general
So much so, he was the only French film critic not invited to the Cannes Film Festival in 1958
Influential proponent, along with Andre Bazin, of the auteur theory of filmmaking
Alfred Hitchcock was his favorite director
Starred in Close Encounters of the Third Kind in 1977

1989César Awards-Best Writing: nominated
1984BAFTA Film Awards-Best Foreign Language Film: nominated
1984César Awards-Best Director: nominated
1981César Awards-Best Writing: winner
1981César Awards-Best Film: winner
1981César Awards-Best Director: winner
1980French Academy of Cinema-Best Director: winner
1979BAFTA Film Awards-Best Supporting Actor: nominated
1976César Awards-Best Director: nominated
1975New York Film Critics Circle-Best Screenplay: winner
1974BAFTA Film Awards-Best Direction: winner
1974Oscar-Best Writing (Original Screenplay): nominated
1974Oscar-Best Achievement in Directing: nominated
1973National Society of Film Critics-Best Director: winner
1973New York Film Critics Circle-Best Director: winner
1970National Board of Review-Best Director: winner
1969National Society of Film Critics-Best Director: winner
1961BAFTA Film Awards-Best Film and British Film: nominated
1959Cannes Film Festival-Best Director: winner
1959Oscar-Best Writing (Story and Screenplay--written directly for the screen): nominated