Jacques Rivette dies

Farewell to a hero of the French New Wave.

by Jennie Kermode

Jacques Rivette
Jacques Rivette Photo: Raphael Van Sitteren

Celebrated French director and critic Jacques Rivette died today at the age of 87. One of the founders of the New Wave, together with the likes of Jean-Luc Godard, Eric Rohmer and François Truffaut, he was known for Céline And Julie Go Boating, Paris Belongs To Us and numerous other acclaimed intellectual works. In 1991 he won the Cannes Film Festival's Grand Prix for La Belle Noiseuse.

Rivette moved into filmmaking after writing for Cahiers du Cinéma, in which he cemented his reputation as a thinker. He wa a committed Marxist who frequently brought politics into his work. Like Marx, he was also known for the sheer length of his works, with Out 1 clocking in at nearly 13 hours.

Retiring in 2009, Rivette subsequently revealed that he had Alzheimer's disease. His passing was announced today by his producer.

Share this with others on...
News

Changing hearts and minds Lexi Powner, Friedel Dausab, Rosanna Flamer-Caldera and James Lewis on Out Laws

Somewhere over the rainbow Arco director on how he managed to follow his dream with help from Natalie Portman

A place to belong Liam O Mochain on anthology filmmaking, hidden stories and making Abode

Bear necessities Jack Weisman and Gabriel Osio Vanden on working together and making naivety work for them in Nuisance Bear

In ascension Isaac 'Drift' Wright and Deon Taylor on climbing, spiritual development and Drift

Looking back Kei Ishikawa on memory, ambiguity and A Pale View Of Hills

More news and features

We're currently bringing you news, reviews and more direct from BFI Flare and SXSW.



We're looking forward to Fantaspoa and Overlook.



We've recently brought you coverage of the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival, the NY Rendezvous with French Cinema, the Glasgow Film Festival, the Berlinale, Sundance and Palm Springs.



Read our full for more.


Visit our festivals section.

Interact

Don't forget that you can follow us on YouTube for trailers of festival films and more. You can also find us on Mastodon and Bluesky.

It's a busy time for festivals and here's the latest from the spring events:

GSFF 19th edition opens in Glasgow with Downriver A Tiger

Cannes Barbra Streisand to receive honorary Palme d'Or

Thessaloniki Golden Alexanders announced

Cannes Lighton and McGoldrick join La Résidence

Cannes Park Chan-Wook named as Jury head