Bertrand René Maurice Tavernier
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Bertrand Tavernier directed the Oscar-nominated performance of Dexter Gordon in ‘Round Midnight 1986. He began his career as a film critic for Positif and worked as an assistant to Jean-Pierre Melville. He won multiple César Awards, a BAFTA, and the Golden Bear.
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Bertrand Tavernier — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
Bertrand René Maurice Tavernier was born in Lyon on 25 April 1941 to Geneviève and René Tavernier. His father was a publicist, writer, and president of the French PEN club. He was educated at Lycée Henri-IV in Paris, where he met future director Volker Schlöndorff. Despite studying law, he turned to film criticism, writing for the leftist magazine Positif.
Tavernier began his career in the early 1960s as a publicist for producer Georges de Beauregard and as a film critic for Positif. He worked as an assistant to Jean-Pierre Melville. His first film as director won the Louis Delluc Prize, launching his career. He gained international recognition with ‘Round Midnight 1986, a film about jazz musicians that earned Dexter Gordon an Academy Award nomination. He continued to direct and write, receiving multiple César Awards and a BAFTA. He also acted in several films, often as a narrator or in small roles.
Tavernier was married twice: first to Sarah Thibau and later to Colo Tavernier. He had two children with Colo: Nils Tavernier, who became an actor, and Tiffany Tavernier. His siblings were Sophie Crèvecoeur and Laurence Simon Lorière.
Tavernier’s legacy as a filmmaker is marked by his commitment to historical authenticity and his advocacy for film preservation. He was awarded the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival and the Cannes Best Director Award. His film ‘Round Midnight remains a classic, and he was honored posthumously at the Flanders International Film Festival in Ghent. Tavernier is remembered as a figure in French cinema who combined critical insight with directorial passion.
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When I Do a Film, I Like to Not Only Be Involved with the Emotion, but Also the Context Around the Character. I Want to Show the Environment and I Want, Sometimes, to Deal with Social and Political Issues Because They Are Organic to the Jobs of People.
I Like Characters Who, Because They Really Believe in Their Mission, Become a Pain in the Arse for an Institution. a Teacher Who Really Wants to Teach and Really Wants to Follow the Implication of His Work How Can You Teach a Kid Who Is Starving? How? the People Above Him Say That It’s Not His Job and Tell Him to Forget It. but Can You Forget It? Can You Forget When You See a Young Kid Scavenging in a Dustbin? If You Raise That Question, Then You Become a Problem.
Dealing with History Teaches You to Be Analytical and Teaches You to Find Out What’s Important. Not Conventional History, but the History Told by the New Breed of Historians That Show That History Is Linked with Fact, Flesh, Blood, Passion. It’s Not Just About Remembering Dates, but It’s About Making the History Alive.
I’ve Been Lucky. Almost Everything I’ve Done I Wanted to Make Passionately. It’s Not so Much the Case If You Work in America.
I Can’t Tell You How Many Films I’ve Made; I Don’t Count. as I’ve Said They Were Mostly Things I Was Passionate About. I Try Not to Be Too Analytic About Why I Want to Do Something but One Thing That Seems Consistent Is That There’s an Intriguing Element That Starts It All and Makes Me Want to Learn Something New.
My Characters Are Not Completely Heroic Characters. Michael Powell Told Me That He Liked Films Where the Hero Is Wrong in Three or Four Scenes but Without the Author of the Film Pointing Them Out. I Adore That! to Have Somebody Making Mistakes. That’s Something That Exists in All the Films Whether the Man Is a Cop or a Tenor Saxophonist.
Little-known facts about Bertrand Tavernier — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
Jean-Pierre Melville took Tavernier on as an assistant early in his career.
He attended high school with fellow director Volker Schlöndorff at Lycée Henri-IV.
Tavernier directed Dexter Gordon in ‘Round Midnight 1986, a performance that earned Gordon an Oscar nomination — notable because Gordon was primarily a musician.
As a cinephile, Tavernier maintained a DVD blog on the site of the SACD, a French authors’ and composers’ association founded in 1777 by Beaumarchais.
A tribute was paid to Tavernier in the Memory of Film section at the Flanders International Film Festival in Ghent, Belgium.
He started his film career as a publicist and also worked as a critic and journalist.
Tavernier counted Philippe Noiret among his favorite actors.
His son, Nils Tavernier, became an actor.
He and Colo Tavernier had two children: Nils and Tiffany.
During the early 1960s, Tavernier worked as a press officer for producer Georges de Beauregard.
He was an influential film critic, contributing to the leftist magazine Positif.
He received his education at Lycée Henri-IV in Paris.
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