Jean-Luc Godard, pioneer of French New Wave Cinema, passes away

The French-Swiss filmmaker was 91.

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Veteran filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard, a pioneer of the French New Wave cinema movement, passed away on Tuesday. He was 91. The news was first reported by French newspaper Libération.

Regarded as one of the most influential filmmakers in French cinema, Godard was born in 1930, to an aristocratic family of Franco–Swiss descent. Starting his career as a film critic, Godard ventured into filmmaking in the 1950s, beginning with short films. His first feature length directorial came in the form of the 1960 crime drama À bout de souffle or Breathless. His maiden directorial venture earned Godard the award for Best Director at the film festival.

Godard was known for his experimental filmmaking style, pushing the established boundaries of filmmaking not only when it came to narrative, but also technical aspects of the motion picture such as sound, and camerawork. His work made him a pioneer of the French New Wave cinema movement of the 1960s.

His works like Une femme est une femme or A Woman Is a Woman(1961), Le Petit soldat or The Little Soldier(1963), and Le Mépris or Contempt(1963) solidified his place as an unapologetic experimental filmmaker who does not shy away from pushing boundaries. However, post the 1960s, Godard’s works seemed to become more muted in their revisionism. The filmmaker was also known for his many political films as well. The director was awarded an Academy Honorary Award in 2010. Godard’s name has frequently been featured in critics’ lists of the best directors of all time.

Godard was married twice. His first marriage was with Anna Karina, with whom he collaborated on films such as Vivre sa vie (1962), Bande à part (1964) and Pierrot le Fou (1965). After his divorce with Karina, Godard married actress Anne Wiazemsky, who starred in his 1967 film La Chinoise. After his second marriage ended, the filmmaker was in a relationship with Anne-Marie Miéville, a Swiss filmmaker.

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