Jacques Rivette

Jacques Rivette (b. 1928, Rouen), one of the initiators of the French new wave, first caused a sensation with The Nun (La religieuse, 1965), an original adaptation of Diderot´s novel of the same name in which he (the author as well) courageously disregards various church taboos. This film was an early indication that Rivette would not follow the path chosen by his famous contemporaries. He was interested in neither socio-political aspects of the present day nor in fashionable existential themes. Instead, he turned to the world of sophisticated narrative structures, the kind which art creates. In his films, clearly fictitious plots and exemplary characters mingle with fragments of actual facts, fantastic visions and intellectual speculation. Bizarre coincidences and mysteries become elements of reality with disturbing matter-of-factness. Selected filmography: Celine and Julie Go Boating (Céline et Julie vont en bateau, 1974), The Beautiful Troublemaker (La belle noiseuse, 1991), Secret Defence (Secret défense, 1997)

MFF Karlovy Vary