Encyclopedia of French Film Directors

950 • TAVANO, CHARLES-FÉLIX
The daughter of Jacques Tati, she worked mainly as a
co–assistant editor (1967 Play Time / Tempo di divertimento
/ USA: Playtime, Jacques Tati, France / Italy, shot
in 1964–1965; 1970 Solo, Jean-Pierre Mocky; 1972 Un
Flic / Notte sulla città / USA: Dirty Money / US DVD: A
Cop, Jean-Pierre Melville France / Italy), editor (1971
Trafi c / Monsieur Hulot nel caos del traffi co / UK and
USA: Traffi c, Jacques Tati, France / Italy; 1974 Parade,
TV, Jacques Tati, France / Sweden; 1977 Mais qu’est-ce
qu’elles veulent?, documentary, Coline Serreau; Pourquoi
pas! / UK and USA: Why Not!, Coline Serreau; 1978
Couleur Chair / Flesh Color, François Weyergans, France
/ Belgium / USA; Pauline et l’Ordinateur, Francis Fehr;
1979 L’Extraordinaire Ascension de Maurice Bellange,
short, Bruno Decharme; La Terre au Ventre, Tony Gatlif;
1986 Synthétique Opérette, short, Olivier Esmein; 1995
color version of Jour de Fête), and sound editor (1975
Un Sac de Billes, Jacques Doillon; 1979 Coup de Tête /
UK and USA: Hothead, Jean-Jacques Annaud).
Filmography
1978 Dégustation Maison (short; also screenwriter)
Forza Bastia ou L’Île en Fête (documentary; short;
also co-editor; co-director with Jacques Tati)
1998 Le Comptoir (also co-screenwriter, co-dialogist)
TAVANO, CHARLES-FÉLIX (April 19, 1887,
Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France–May 29, 1963, Châtelde-Neuvre,
Allier, France)
A former theater manager in Nice (1910–1914), he
began his fi lm career in 1919 as an artistic manager
for Les Films Louis Aubert (1919–1931) and wrote a
few fi lms (1923 L’Île de la Mort, E. B. Donatien; 1924
L’Autre Aile, as adapter, Henri Andréani; La Chevauchée
blanche, as co-screenwriter, E. B. Donatien; 1931 Le
Coeur de Paris, as co-screenwriter, co-dialogist, also
assistant director, Jean Benoît-Lévy, Marie Epstein).
After being general manager of Synchro-Ciné, he
created his own production company and fi nanced
the following fi lms: 1935 Pension Mimosas (Jacques
Feyder); Bout de Chou (Henry Wulschleger); 1938 Les
Nouveaux Riches (also co-screenwriter, Henry Wulschleger),
1939 Le Bois sacré (Léon Mathot, Robert
Bibal), 1943 Le Mistral (Jacques Houssin); L’Homme
de Londres (Henri Decoin); 1945 La Cage aux Rossignols
/ UK and USA: A Cage of Nightingales (Jean
Dréville); 1946 Il suffi t d’une Fois (Andrée Feix); 1947
Antoine et Antoinette / UK and USA: Antoine and Antoinette
(Jacques Becker); 1948 Croisière pour l’Inconnu
(Pierre Montazel). The fi rst movies he directed were
fi lmed songs.
Filmography
1930 L’Angélus de la Mer (short; fi lmed song)
Quand Madelon (short; fi lmed song)
1931 Le Credo du Paysan (short; fi lmed song)
Deux Fois Vingt Ans (also screenwriter, adapter,
dialogist)
1932 Le Billet de Logement (also co-screenwriter)
Arrêtez-moi! (short; co-director with Christian
Matras)
Un beau Mariage (short)
Un Client de Province (short; also adapter)
1933 La Belle Escale (short; also screenwriter)
1934 Les Deux Papas (medium-length)
1935 Sa Majesté Antonin
Un colpo di vento (co-director with Giovacchino
Forzano; Italy)
La Figurante (short)
Zizi (short)
1948 L’Impeccable Henri
1949 Les Vagabonds du Rêve
Eve et le Serpent
1951 Coq en Pâte
Le Bonhomme de Jadis (short; also screenwriter,
adapter)
Ce Bon Monsieur Durand (medium-length; also
screenwriter, adapter, dialogist)
Un Amour de Paris (short)
TAVERNIER, BERTRAND (April 25, 1941, Lyon,
Rhône, France–)
The son of writer and journalist René Tavernier
(1915–1989), he was a movie buff as a child. After
briefl y studying law, he wrote fi lm criticism and
published interviews in several magazines and reviews
(Les Lettres françaises; Cinéma 60; Les Cahiers
du Cinéma; Positif; Télérama; Fiction) and co-founded a
cine-club, Le Nickel-odeon. In the 1960s, he worked
as a publicist for producer Georges de Beauregard
while being an assistant director (1961 Léon Morin,
Prêtre / Léon Morin prete / UK: Leon Morin, Priest / USA:
The Forgiven Sinner, Jean-Pierre Melville, France / Italy;
1964 Maciste, gladiatore di Sparta / Maciste, Gladiateur
de Sparte / US TV: The Terror of Rome Against the Son
of Hercules, Mario Caiano, Italy / France; 1965 Una
questione d’onore / UK: A Question of Honour, Luigi
Zampa, Italy) and collaborating as a screenwriter