Alain Cavalier

“I have on occasion experienced filmmaking as an intensely shared activity. Lively friendships result and remain. Filming that affection today is no act of nostalgia. Paths once crossed make things simple. People who have been behind the camera, or in front of it, giving the movie their all, are without illusion.” (Alain Cavalier)

“I have on occasion experienced filmmaking as an intensely shared activity. Lively friendships result and remain. Filming that affection today is no act of nostalgia. Paths once crossed make things simple. People who have been behind the camera, or in front of it, giving the movie their all, are without illusion.” (Alain Cavalier)

“I have on occasion experienced filmmaking as an intensely shared activity. Lively friendships result and remain. Filming that affection today is no act of nostalgia. Paths once crossed make things simple. People who have been behind the camera, or in front of it, giving the movie their all, are without illusion.” (Alain Cavalier)

“I have on occasion experienced filmmaking as an intensely shared activity. Lively friendships result and remain. Filming that affection today is no act of nostalgia. Paths once crossed make things simple. People who have been behind the camera, or in front of it, giving the movie their all, are without illusion.” (Alain Cavalier)

“I have on occasion experienced filmmaking as an intensely shared activity. Lively friendships result and remain. Filming that affection today is no act of nostalgia. Paths once crossed make things simple. People who have been behind the camera, or in front of it, giving the movie their all, are without illusion.” (Alain Cavalier)

“I have on occasion experienced filmmaking as an intensely shared activity. Lively friendships result and remain. Filming that affection today is no act of nostalgia. Paths once crossed make things simple. People who have been behind the camera, or in front of it, giving the movie their all, are without illusion.” (Alain Cavalier)

Documentary about Emmanuèle Bernheim's autobiography "Tout s’est bien passé" who provided euthanasia to her dying father, but later died by herself from cancer before filming began. Alain Cavalier works with the images of his video diary.

Documentary about Emmanuèle Bernheim's autobiography "Tout s’est bien passé" who provided euthanasia to her dying father, but later died by herself from cancer before filming began. Alain Cavalier works with the images of his video diary.

Documentary about Emmanuèle Bernheim's autobiography "Tout s’est bien passé" who provided euthanasia to her dying father, but later died by herself from cancer before filming began. Alain Cavalier works with the images of his video diary.

Philippe : An actress, a member of the Académie française, a boxer, an actor... Philippe, an all-round athlete of the televised interview, prepares to interview them one after the other. Half an hour each, without deletions, in a single afternoon. He takes some pills to calm himself down. He expects the marathon to be tough. Bernard : With improvised lighting on the stage of a small theater in Beauvais, Bernard, an actor, performs for the first time a play that he wrote and in which he's the only actor. He moves the spectators, but can't yet imagine where this performance will lead.

Jacquotte : Once a year, in July, on the way to vacation, Jacquotte relives her childhood for a few hours in her beloved parents' home, which has remained intact. They died long ago, but nothing has been touched in the house. One day, it may be necessary to sell it. Daniel : Before leaving his apartment, Daniel checks ten times that he's closed the windows and turned off the taps properly. Obsessed by cleanliness, washing his hands is a whole ritual. He goes down to the café to try his luck with scratch cards. In the past, he was a very talented filmmaker, before giving it up. Why does he never want to talk about it ? He jokes and moves on to another subject.

Léon : This morning, Léon the shoe-repairer puts up a sign in his store that he's managed for forty-six years : "Closing down in two months." Panic sets in among the neighborhood inhabitants, who adore this big-hearted Armenian with an amazing face. Is there some way to make stay longer ? Guillaume : Four o'clock in the morning, Guillaume arrives at work first, ahead of his team. At the end of the day, he will have sold all his cakes and bread, that's how good they are. In the evening, he and his wife Jasmine dream of buying a bigger and better located pastry store.

Each morning, Bartabas works with his favorite horse, Caravage. They share a silent conversation in which they guide each other. Will they reach a certain perfection which will allow them to perform before the public ? The filmmaker has been given access to witness this intimate relationship: health hiccups, sessions that don't work out and the questioning they lead to, perfecting the act, tasting the joy of a flawless performance. As the film goes by, a trio comes to life, where hearts beat as one. The spectator will perhaps make the trio a quartet.

"Since childhood, I've had the good fortune of going through two mini depressions of happiness, and I'm serenely awaiting the third. This alone is enough for me to believe in a certain beauty to life and to have the pleasure of attempting to film it in all its forms (trees, animals, gods, humans...) and to do so when love is intense. The filmmaker has lost a part of innocence. It's so difficult to spot it around you, so difficult not to lose it during a film shoot. I'm grateful to those who you look at on screen. To stand up to time, I've a tactic, which is to dig into my stock of emotions and old images. Not so as to find what will never come back, but to discover the signs of spring in winter. This allows me to begin another day with an easy, light step." (Alain Cavalier)

Thibault de Chateauvieux - La Pie Rouge - Pascal Blaise - Marie Bornat - Miles Davis - Clint et Kyle Eastwood - Zoé Chantre - George Bush - Finale

During a year, they would meet and film each other. The filmmaker and the actor, the President and his prime minister, Alain Cavalier and Vincent Lindon. In Pater, you will see them in real life and in the fiction that they invented together.

During a year, they would meet and film each other. The filmmaker and the actor, the President and his prime minister, Alain Cavalier and Vincent Lindon. In Pater, you will see them in real life and in the fiction that they invented together.

In a film as moving as a confession, the filmmaker portrays a veritable journey into the valley of the shadows to find Irène, his Eurydice.

Alain Cavalier's contribution to 2009's Haiku project

Joseph Morder begins to film his life with a cell phone and thus begins to realize some life-changing experiences in attempts to discover a new film language

Through the public and private toilets that he has enjoyed filming over fifteen years, Alain Cavalier evokes our daily lives which are less trivial than they would appear.

From his diary, filmed over ten years, filmmaker Alain Cavalier invites us to a meditation on old age, weakness and death. Made of moments of life, fragments of images, this film composes a mosaic where the spectator is invited to also find his place by himself...

From his diary, filmed over ten years, filmmaker Alain Cavalier invites us to a meditation on old age, weakness and death. Made of moments of life, fragments of images, this film composes a mosaic where the spectator is invited to also find his place by himself...

"I have been lucky enough to be able to film the cleaning and restoration work on a painting by Pierre Bonnard: Nu dans la baignoire. I completely inhabited this canvas. It drew me to it and allowed me to record the palpable cinematic evidence of Bonnard's art of painting. It has led me along the hidden path of his private life." (Alain Cavalier)

René, a children's theater performer, has a problem : he is a hearty eater and he weighs no less than 155 kilos. After being abandoned by his girlfriend, René decides to go on a diet, notably to reconquer her. It is also an opportunity for him to question his former lifestyle and to define new values...

René, a children's theater performer, has a problem : he is a hearty eater and he weighs no less than 155 kilos. After being abandoned by his girlfriend, René decides to go on a diet, notably to reconquer her. It is also an opportunity for him to question his former lifestyle and to define new values...

"If I get along well with someone, if I am attracted to what that person does, then I have an annoying tendency to desire to film that person. I get rejected or not. It sometimes happens that ones has a change of heart after saying yes. The shoot can last years or simply an afternoon. So I stock a lot of films that I edit, that I abandon or eventually take up again. And then, simple pleasure in the middle of disorder, four films come together merely to form one. Without any of the persons who make up the ensemble ever meeting." (Alain Cavalier)

"Since a long time I have been linked to the painter Georges de La Tour. His paintings helped me in making my films. Even more, in a precise way they crossed my personal life. The film I shot about La Tour is about that : an intimate emotion followed by the love for the works of La Tour. [...] Georges de La Tour's paintings (it remains 30) are fixed images gifted of a rare radiation and density in the history of human labour. It happens that me, a film-maker, with my movement of twenty four images per second, I am a little jealous of this completion." (Alain Cavalier)

A filmmaker meets a woman. Delicately, he starts videoing moments of their life together. He slowly realises he’s not storing memories, but making a film. He asks her permission to continue. After filming for a year, a 75-minute edit is ready…

A “Cinéma, de notre temps” series episode directed by french filmmaker Jean-Pierre Limosin, originally aired 26 January 1996.

"In this film you will see a woman's handkerchief tied around a man's wrist, a well-shaven pig's head, some adolescents who are more inventive than their elders in struggling against oppression... You will not, however, hear any dialog. Words do not prepare, do not accompany, do not comment upon the action. This is not a silent film, but a film in which the only moment of life retained for the cinematographic spectacle are those where people do not speak. The spectator will find, perhaps, a greater freedom of interpretation in it and, we hope, a particular pleasure in this." (Alain Cavalier)

An enchanting mini-portrait of Antoinette, an 86½-year-old magician. Clad in a dress coat and white satin top hat, the elegant Parisienne performs ostensibly simple tricks with astonishing sleight-of-hand. With no more than a napkin, tissue paper or a rain of plastic flowers, Antoinette conjures up a hopeful universe.

The life of little St. Therese of Lisieux, depicted in minimalist vignettes. Therese and her sisters are all nuns in a Carmelite convent. Her devotion to Jesus and her concept of "the little way" to God are shown clearly, using plain modern language. A sense of angelic simplicity comes across without fancy lights, choirs, or showy miracles.

The life of little St. Therese of Lisieux, depicted in minimalist vignettes. Therese and her sisters are all nuns in a Carmelite convent. Her devotion to Jesus and her concept of "the little way" to God are shown clearly, using plain modern language. A sense of angelic simplicity comes across without fancy lights, choirs, or showy miracles.

A movie director attemps to film the way he writes a screenplay.

A man walks a length of railroad track, looking for his elderly mother whom he believes fell from the train at some point. He brings his daughter along.

A man walks a length of railroad track, looking for his elderly mother whom he believes fell from the train at some point. He brings his daughter along.

A man repaints his apartment. Through objects, photos, drawings he plunges back into his past. His future seems so dark that he ends up painting the whole apartment in black, including the windows, to absolute black.

A loving couple Martin and Lea have some problems with each other too.

A loving couple Martin and Lea have some problems with each other too.

When a young auto salesman is forced to give up a vacation with his wife in order to drive a big American car to its new owner who lives on the Riviera, he makes the best of things. First, he gets and old friend to ride along with him. Then, the two of them are joined by another pair of men who want to ride south.

When a young auto salesman is forced to give up a vacation with his wife in order to drive a big American car to its new owner who lives on the Riviera, he makes the best of things. First, he gets and old friend to ride along with him. Then, the two of them are joined by another pair of men who want to ride south.

Люсиль наслаждается жизнью из свободного досуга и комфорта, благодаря ее богатому любовнику/другу, Шарлю. Несмотря на различие в их возрастах - Люсиль - 25, Шарль находится в его сороковых - они, кажется, прекрасная пара, живут в большом доме, встречаются с друзьями. Затем, однажды, Люсиль встречает человека ее собственного возраста, Антуана, к которому ее немедленно влечет. Они швыряют себя в страстную любовную интригу, и Люсиль скоро понимает, что она должна оставить Шарля и продолжать жизнь с Антуаном - даже при том, что последний не имеет достаточно денег, чтобы содержать их обоих. Антуан находит своей возлюбленной работу, но Люсиль скоро понимает, что она не предназначена для работы. Вскоре она обнаруживает, что она беременна, и осознает болезненную действительность жизни, которую она выбрала...

Люсиль наслаждается жизнью из свободного досуга и комфорта, благодаря ее богатому любовнику/другу, Шарлю. Несмотря на различие в их возрастах - Люсиль - 25, Шарль находится в его сороковых - они, кажется, прекрасная пара, живут в большом доме, встречаются с друзьями. Затем, однажды, Люсиль встречает человека ее собственного возраста, Антуана, к которому ее немедленно влечет. Они швыряют себя в страстную любовную интригу, и Люсиль скоро понимает, что она должна оставить Шарля и продолжать жизнь с Антуаном - даже при том, что последний не имеет достаточно денег, чтобы содержать их обоих. Антуан находит своей возлюбленной работу, но Люсиль скоро понимает, что она не предназначена для работы. Вскоре она обнаруживает, что она беременна, и осознает болезненную действительность жизни, которую она выбрала...

Over the course of one night, a gang of twelve criminals carry out a commando-like raid on a small town.

Over the course of one night, a gang of twelve criminals carry out a commando-like raid on a small town.

Over the course of one night, a gang of twelve criminals carry out a commando-like raid on a small town.

Over the course of one night, a gang of twelve criminals carry out a commando-like raid on a small town.

Конец немецкой оккупации. В маленьком французском городке, в особняке, который французы именуют Шато, скучает очаровательная француженка. Гремят взрывы наступающей армии союзников, а в доме свита устраивает для своей хозяйки праздник. В разгар веселья на территорию Шато попадает парашютист-освободитель, который тоже не прочь присоединится к гуляющим и прекрасной хозяйке дома…

События охватывают период с 1959 по 1961 год. Томас служил в рядах Иностранного легиона в Алжире. Он дезертировал со службы и мечтал вернуться на родину, но для этого нужны были деньги. Лейтенант Фразер, бывший командир Томаса, состоящий в секретной вооруженной организации ОАС, предложил ему участвовать в похищении Доминик Сервет, защитнице алжирцев, которые должны дать важные показания в суде. Томас согласился из-за возможности заработать… После похищения Фразер поручил Томасу и его напарнику охранять Сервет. Охраняя пленницу, Томас начал испытывать к ней жалость и симпатию. Это заметил напарник Томаса и обвинил его в предательстве. В перестрелке Томас застрелил охранника, но и сам был ранен. Томас освободил пленницу. Томас нелегально прибыл во Францию и разыскал Доминик, за которой уже следили…

События охватывают период с 1959 по 1961 год. Томас служил в рядах Иностранного легиона в Алжире. Он дезертировал со службы и мечтал вернуться на родину, но для этого нужны были деньги. Лейтенант Фразер, бывший командир Томаса, состоящий в секретной вооруженной организации ОАС, предложил ему участвовать в похищении Доминик Сервет, защитнице алжирцев, которые должны дать важные показания в суде. Томас согласился из-за возможности заработать… После похищения Фразер поручил Томасу и его напарнику охранять Сервет. Охраняя пленницу, Томас начал испытывать к ней жалость и симпатию. Это заметил напарник Томаса и обвинил его в предательстве. В перестрелке Томас застрелил охранника, но и сам был ранен. Томас освободил пленницу. Томас нелегально прибыл во Францию и разыскал Доминик, за которой уже следили…

События охватывают период с 1959 по 1961 год. Томас служил в рядах Иностранного легиона в Алжире. Он дезертировал со службы и мечтал вернуться на родину, но для этого нужны были деньги. Лейтенант Фразер, бывший командир Томаса, состоящий в секретной вооруженной организации ОАС, предложил ему участвовать в похищении Доминик Сервет, защитнице алжирцев, которые должны дать важные показания в суде. Томас согласился из-за возможности заработать… После похищения Фразер поручил Томасу и его напарнику охранять Сервет. Охраняя пленницу, Томас начал испытывать к ней жалость и симпатию. Это заметил напарник Томаса и обвинил его в предательстве. В перестрелке Томас застрелил охранника, но и сам был ранен. Томас освободил пленницу. Томас нелегально прибыл во Францию и разыскал Доминик, за которой уже следили…

События охватывают период с 1959 по 1961 год. Томас служил в рядах Иностранного легиона в Алжире. Он дезертировал со службы и мечтал вернуться на родину, но для этого нужны были деньги. Лейтенант Фразер, бывший командир Томаса, состоящий в секретной вооруженной организации ОАС, предложил ему участвовать в похищении Доминик Сервет, защитнице алжирцев, которые должны дать важные показания в суде. Томас согласился из-за возможности заработать… После похищения Фразер поручил Томасу и его напарнику охранять Сервет. Охраняя пленницу, Томас начал испытывать к ней жалость и симпатию. Это заметил напарник Томаса и обвинил его в предательстве. В перестрелке Томас застрелил охранника, но и сам был ранен. Томас освободил пленницу. Томас нелегально прибыл во Францию и разыскал Доминик, за которой уже следили…

Клеман является участником ультраправой террористической группы. После неудачного аттентата и предательства товарища, Клеман с женой уходит в бега. Они останавливается у Пола. После установления предателя, Клеман намеревается отомстить. А его жена обнаруживает, что она увлечена Полом.

Клеман является участником ультраправой террористической группы. После неудачного аттентата и предательства товарища, Клеман с женой уходит в бега. Они останавливается у Пола. После установления предателя, Клеман намеревается отомстить. А его жена обнаруживает, что она увлечена Полом.

Жанна Турнье не первый год замужем. Прекрасный загородный дом, состоятельный муж, очаровательная дочка, холеный любовник, дорогие наряды, великосветские приемы… Скука. Случайно она знакомится с археологом Бернаром, который абсолютно не похож на людей ее круга и, мало того, презирает их образ жизни…

A self-assured businessman murders his employer, the husband of his mistress, which unintentionally provokes an ill-fated chain of events.

An American sculptor, passioned by literature, comes to Paris to perfect his art, but ends up with barely no money, and to survive has to sell The New York Herald Tribune, at night, to his compatriots. A look at the bohemian Parisian life of the fifties.

An American sculptor, passioned by literature, comes to Paris to perfect his art, but ends up with barely no money, and to survive has to sell The New York Herald Tribune, at night, to his compatriots. A look at the bohemian Parisian life of the fifties.