He is widely regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time.
French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard has passed away at the age of 91, according to reports.
Several media outlets in France have published a statement from the director’s family which says he died peacefully in his home surrounded by loved ones.
A major figure in the French New Wave, an art film movement renowned for rejecting traditional filmmaking conventions in favour of experimentation, Godard found international acclaim with his 1960 debut Breathless, as well as his later works like Alphaville, Band of Outsiders and Contempt.
His final film was The Image Book which was released in 2018.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, he has been cited as an influence on acclaimed American directors like Jim Jarmusch, Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino and Steven Soderbergh.
Tributes have begun pouring in for Godard, with French President Emmanuel Macron stating he invented a “resolutely modern intensely free art” and that France has lost a “national treasure” with his death.
Ce fut comme une apparition dans le cinéma français. Puis il en devint un maître. Jean-Luc Godard, le plus iconoclaste des cinéastes de la Nouvelle Vague, avait inventé un art résolument moderne, intensément libre. Nous perdons un trésor national, un regard de génie. pic.twitter.com/bQneeqp8on
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) September 13, 2022
Meanwhile, Edgar Wright called him “one of the most influential, iconoclastic filmmakers of them all”.
“It was ironic that he himself revered the Hollywood studio film-making system, as perhaps no other director inspired as many people to just pick up a camera and start shooting,” he said.
RIP Jean-Luc Godard, one of the most influential, iconoclastic film-makers of them all. It was ironic that he himself revered the Hollywood studio film-making system, as perhaps no other director inspired as many people to just pick up a camera and start shooting… pic.twitter.com/KFOnnQ1H6n
— edgarwright (@edgarwright) September 13, 2022
Another person to pay tribute to Godard was Antonio Banderas who praised him for “expanding the boundaries of the cinema”.
Thank you monsieur Godard for expanding the boundaries of the cinema.
Gracias Jean-Luc Godard por ampliar los confines del lenguaje cinematográfico.
RIP #JeanLucGodard #NouvelleVague #filmmaker 🇫🇷🖤 pic.twitter.com/YuAJ6wiBqo
— Antonio Banderas (@antoniobanderas) September 13, 2022
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