Vautier, René

(January 15, 1928, Camaret-sur-Mer, Finistère, France - )

   Decorated with the Croix de Guerre (Cross of War) at age sixteen for his acts of resistance, he gradu­ated from the IDHEC in 1946. A politically involved director, he directed his first documentary during the Algerian War. Showing the point of view of Arab fighters, he was arrested by the French and spent twenty-five months in a Tunisian jail. In 1960-1961, he contributed to the structure of Algerian and Tu­nisian cinematographies. He stayed in Algeria after independence and wrote the screenplay of Ahmed Rachedi's L'Aube des Damnés / Fajr Al-Mu'azabine (1966, shot in 1964). Returning to France and more especially to his native Brittany, he created in 1970 l'U.P.C.B. (Unité de Production Cinéma Bretagne). He was a technical adviser to Serge Poljinsky (1974 Le Funambule). Other credits (as actor): 1992 Cinématon (documentary, short, as himself, Gérard Courant); 1994 Les Mots perdus (Marcel Simard, Canada); 1998 Electrons libres (short, Jean-Marc Moutout); 2001 La Mémoire des Pierres (short, Corto Fajal).

 Filmography

1958 ◘ Algérie en Flammes (documentary; short)

1959 ◘ Anneaux d'Or / Chaîne d'Or (short;Tunisia)

1961 ◘ J'ai huit Ans (co-director with Yann Le Masson)

1963 ◘ Peuple en Marche (documentary; co-director with Ahmed Rachedi, Nasr-Eddine Gunéifi)

1970 ◘ Les Trois Cousins (short)

        ◘ Les Ajoncs (short; also screenwriter, actor)

1971 ◘ La Caravelle (short)

        ◘ Avoir Vingt Ans dans les Aurès (also screenwriter, dialogist)

        ◘ Transmission d'Expérience ouvrière (documentary; short)

        ◘ Mourir pour des Images (documentary; medium-length)

        ◘ La Folle de Toujane (co-director with Nicole Le Garrec)

        ◘ Frontline (co-director with Brigitte Criton, Buana Kabue; Senegal)

        ◘ Quand tu disais Valéry (documentary; co-director with Nicole Le Garrec)

        ◘ Quand les Femmes ont pris la Colère (documentary; co-director with Soazig Chappedelaine; unreleased)

        ◘ Le Poisson commande (short; co-director with Félix Le Garrec, Yann Le Masson)

        ◘ Marée noire et Colère rouge (documentary)

1980 ◘ Une Place au Soleil: Voyage en Giscardie (documentary; short)

1986 ◘ Vous avez dit: Français? (documentary)

1995 ◘ Hirochirac (documentary)