Gilles, Guy

(Guy Emile Chiche / August 25, 1938, Algiers, Algeria-February 1996, Paris, France)

   The son of a bank accountant, he directed his first short at age eighteen. After the death of his mother, he used her name (Gilette) as a pseudonym. He studied at the Beaux-Arts, wrote film criticism for Le Journal d'Alger, and shot reports for cinema. Having settled in France in 1960, he met producer Pierre Braunberger, who allowed him to complete his two Algerian shorts and introduced him to François Reichenbach, who hired him as an assistant (1964 La Douceur du Village, documentary). He previously was an assistant to Jacques Demy (1962 Les Sept Péchés capitaux / I sette peccati capitaliF segment "La Luxure" / "Lussria" / "Luxury", France / Italy). His first feature-length film remained theatrically unreleased. He also was an actor (1961 Tire au flanc / Tire au Flanc 62 / UK: The Sad Sack / USA: The Army Game, Claude de Givray, François Truffaut; 1972 What a Flash! / WataflashF Jean-Michel Barjol) and cinematographer (1973 La Soeur du Cadre, short, Jean-Claude Biette; 1977 Le Théâtre des MatièresF Jean-Claude Biette). He appeared as himself in a documentary shot by his brother (1999 Lettre à Guy Gilles, mon FrèreF documentary, Luc Bernard).

 Filmography

1956 ◘ Les Chasseurs d'Autographes (short)

        ◘ Le Soleil éteint (short)

        ◘ Au Biseau des Baisers (short; also screenwriter, dialogist)

        ◘ Melancholia (short)

        ◘ Histoire d'un petit Garçon devenu grand (short; co-director with François Reichenbach)

        ◘ L'Amour à la Mer (also screenwriter, dialogist, actor; shot in 1962-1963; unreleased)

        ◘ Journal d'un Combat (short; also cinematographer, editor)

        ◘ Paris, un Jour d'Hiver (short; also cinematographer)

        ◘ Les Cafés de Paris (short)

        ◘ Chansons de Geste (short; also cinematographer)

        ◘ Le Jardin des Tuileries (documentary; short; also screenwriter)

        ◘ Un Dimanche à Aurillac (short)

        ◘ Au Pan coupé (also screenwriter, dialogist)

        ◘ Treize Jours en France / UK: Challenge in the Snow / USA: Grenoble (documentary; co-director with Claude Lelouch, François Reichenbach; also cinematographer)

        ◘ Le Clair de Terre (also screenwriter, adapter, dialogist, cinematographer)

        ◘ Côté Cour, Côté Champs (short)

        ◘ Absences répétées (also screenwriter adapter, dialogist)

1975 ◘ Le Jardin qui bascule (also screenwriter, dialogist)

1977 ◘ La Loterie de la Vie (documentary; medium-length; also cinematographer, narrator; shot in 1975)

        ◘ Le Défilé (short)

1980 ◘ La Tête à ça (unfinished)

1982 ◘ Le Crime d'Amour (also screenwriter, dialogist, delegate producer, lyricist)

1987 ◘ Nuit docile (also screenwriter, dialogist)

        ◘ Tepito (short; co-director with Jérôme Pes-cayre; also cinematographer)

1992 ◘ Dis Papa, raconte-moi là-bas (video)

1994 ◘ La Lettre de Jean (video)

        ◘ Néfertiti / Nefertiti, figlia del sole (also co-screenwriter; France / Italy; shot in 1992)

 Television Filmography

        ◘ Pour le Plaisir (documentary; short; episode "Ciné Bijou")

        ◘ Pour le Plaisir (documentary; shorts; episodes "Pop-Âge", "Un Peintre de 87 Ans")

        ◘ Festivals 1966 Cinéma 1967 (documentary)

1969 ◘ Dim Dam Dom (documentary; short; episode "Le Partant")

        ◘ Choses vues (short; episode "La Vie retrou­vée")

        ◘ Dim Dam Dom (documentary; short; episode "Le Cirque des Muchachos")

        ◘ Choses vues (documentary; episode "Proust, l'Art et la Douleur")

1975 ◘ Plain-Chant (documentary; short; episode "Saint Genet, Martyr et Poète"; also screenwriter)

        ◘ La Vie filmée 1946-1954 (documentary)

1976 ◘ Le Pendule

1979 ◘ Il était un Musicien (episode "Monsieur Ravel"; also screenwriter, dialogist)

1983 ◘ Cinéma, Cinémas (documentary; short; episode "Où sont-elles donc?")

1985 ◘ Un Garçon de France (documentary)