Jean-Marie Straub, the creator of a committed and non-conformist cinema since the 1960s, died at the age of 89 at his home in Rolle, Switzerland, the Cinémathèque suisse reported to AFP on Sunday.
“I spoke to Mrs. Straub (his last wife) this afternoon. She died at six in the morning, at her home in Rolle,” Christophe Bolli, communication manager at the Cinémathèque suisse, explained to AFP, confirming information from the registry. The world.
“We were very, very close to him. He donated his films to us. He lived in Rolle. He was also a neighbor of Jean-Luc Godard, who was also very close to the Cinémathèque,” Mr. Bolli developed.
“The Cinémathèque Suisse had done many tributes to Straub, many screenings with him, and then much more came between 2018 and 2019,” the head of communication confided again. “Then his health deteriorated. We have not seen him with us for two years, ”he concluded.
Assistant to Jean Renoir and Abel Gance
To talk about his career, we must talk about the pair of directors Jean-Marie Straub/Danièle Huillet, his previous partner, who met in 1954. The two creators challenged traditional narrative and aesthetic patterns. Danièle Huillet died of cancer at age 70 in October 2006.
In 2017, Jean-Marie Straub received the Leopard of Honor at the Locarno Swiss Festival for all his work.
Born on January 8, 1933 in Metz (France), Jean-Marie Straub began as an assistant to great filmmakers such as Jean Renoir, Abel Gance, Jacques Rivette and Robert Bresson. He then approaches the band formed by Jacques Rivette, François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard, future standard-bearers of the New Wave. He fled France during the Algerian war to find refuge in Germany, where the Straubs/Huillets directed a short film, “Machorka-Muff” (1962).
The foundations for the uncompromising style of the filmmaking duo were laid in 1967 with the feature film “Chronique d’Anna Magdalena Bach”.
“Thank you Jean-Marie for your generosity and your keen gaze on the world, which is very current. We will watch over your heritage and make it shine,” wrote Frédéric Maire, director of the Cinémathèque suisse, on his institution’s website. . .
Source: BFM TV
