Maurice Pialat
About
Biography
Biography
Former painter who made a number of 16mm shorts and spent ten years working in TV before directing his acclaimed first feature, "Me" (1967). A poignant, unromanticized study of adolescence, the film staked out Pialat's concern with the realistic depiction of everyday issues and events. He continued his autobiographical trilogy with "We Will Not Grow Old Together" (1972), an uncompromising account of the disintegration of a marriage, and "La Guele ouverte" (1974), which charts a man's reaction to the death of his mother. Pialat enjoyed international recognition with two films starring Gerard Depardieu, the melodramatic "Lou Lou" (1979), a partially-autobiographical account of the breakup of an affair between two screenwriters, and the fast-paced, violence-riddled "Police" (1985). He took the Palme d'Or at Cannes with the austere religious drama, "Under the Sun of Satan" (1989).
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Director (Short)
Writer (Short)
Life Events
1945
Became a painter; had several exhibitions of his work
1951
Made first amateur movie, "Isabelle aux Dombes"
1955
Began acting
1958
Made first 16mm short films
1960
Completed first professional short documentary, "L'Amour existe/Love Exists"
1961
Directed first short film for TV, "Janine"
1967
First feature film as director, ""L'Enfance Nue/Me"
1969
Appeared as the police inspector in Chabrol's "Que la bete meure"
