Encyclopedia of French Film Directors

164 • CALDERON, GÉRALD
CALDERON, GÉRALD (December 29, 1926,
Paris, France–)
A former senior banking executive, he remains
known mainly for his animal documentaries. He
also occasionally played in fi lms (1976 Un Eléphant
ça trompe énormément / UK: An Elephant Can Be
Extremely Deceptive / USA: Pardon Mon Affaire, Yves
Robert; 1983 Garçon!, Claude Sautet; 1984 Le Jumeau,
Yves Robert; 1990 Lacenaire / USA: L’Elegant Criminel
/ US video: The Elegant Criminal, Francis Girod; 1997
Tortilla y Cinéma, Martin Provost). His son Philippe
Calderon is also a fi lmmaker.
Filmography
1957 Terre d’Insectes (documentary; short)
Terre d’Oiseaux (documentary; short)
1958 Terre sous-marine (documentary; short)
Vivarium (documentary; short)
1960 Le Grand Secret (documentary)
1966 Le Bestiaire d’Amour (documentary; shot in
1963)
1974 La Grande Paulette (shot in 1971)
1978 Le Risque de vivre (documentary; also coscreenwriter)
1987 Les Fourmis tisserandes (documentary; short)
1989 The Deepest Garden (documentary; short;
Canada)
1990 Le Benthos (IMAX 70-mm short)
1991 Les Contes sauvages (documentary)
1998 Attaville, la véritable Histoire des Fourmis (documentary;
also co-screenwriter)
2001 Origine Océan—4 Milliards d’Années sous les
Mers (documentary; short)
CALDERON, PHILIPPE
The son of fi lm director Gérald Calderon, he wrote
for his father the screenplay of an IMAX 70-mm
short (1989 Le Benthos). He created his own production
company, Les Films du Rêve. Other credit
(as screenwriter): 1990 La Matière (4 52', Pierre-
Dominique Gaisseau, Hélène Coldefy).
Filmography
1980 FW (short)
1989 Tree Top (short)
2006 La Citadelle assiégée / La Cité interdite / USA:
The Besieged Fortress (also co-screenwriter;
France / Canada)
2008 Mèche blanche, les Aventures du petit Castor
(France / Canada)
Television Filmography
1988 L’Homme et la Nature (6 52' documentary)
1993 Le Partage des Eaux (documentary)
1994 Chaban (documentary)
Washoe, le Singe qui parle avec les Mains
(documentary)
Le Cousin indésirable (documentary; short)
1995 Le Premier Sourire (documentary; short)
1997 La Rivière Fantôme (documentary)
1998 La Cité des Fourmis (documentary)
1999– Lorsque le Monde parlait Arabe (12 26'
2000 documentary)
2002 Retrouver Byzance (documentary)
2003 Michel Foucault par lui-même (documentary;
also screenwriter, narrator)
2004 La Grande Histoire du Cerveau (documentary)
2005 De Gaulle et Colombey (documentary)
CALEF, HENRI (July 20, 1910, Filippopoli [now Plovdiv],
Bulgaria–August 17, 1994, Paris, France)
After studying philosophy in Paris, he made his professional
debut as a journalist writing articles for
Paris-Soir and Paris-Midi (1932–1934) before working
as second director (1933 Quelqu’un a tué, Jack
Forrester) and then fi rst assistant director (1935
La Famille de Madame Angot, also co-screenwriter,
Jean-Bernard Derosne; Paris-Camargue, Jack Forrester;
Les Gaietés de la Finance, Jack Forrester; 1936 Les
Gaietés du Palace, also co-screenwriter, Walter Kapps;
Pantins d’Amour, also co-screenwriter, Walter Kapps;
1937 L’Escadrille de la Chance, Max de Vaucorbeil;
1938 L’Affaire Lafarge / USA: The Lafarge Case, also
co-adapter, Pierre Chenal; Les Nouveaux Riches, André
Berthomieu; L’Inconnue de Monte-Carlo, also
co-screenwriter, André Berthomieu; La Maison du
Maltais / USA: Sirocco, Pierre Chenal; 1939 Eusèbe
Député, André Berthomieu; Le Dernier Tournant, Pierre
Chenal; Tourbillon de Paris / USA: Whirl of Paris / Whirlwind
of Paris, Henri Diamant-Berger; 1942 Soyez les
Bienvenus, Jacques de Baroncelli, shot in 1940). During
the occupation of France, he was a member of a
group of screenwriters gathered by Jacques Cohen
in the Free Zone (1942–1943). He collaborated on
many unfi lmed projects, including Le Cocu magnifi que
(Serge de Poligny, 1939). At the liberation of France,
producer Sacha Gordine gave him the opportunity to
direct his fi rst movie. He was vice president (1965)
and then president (1967–1972) of the Association
des Auteurs de Films. Other credit (uncredited coscreenwriter):
1945 La Fiancée des Ténèbres (Serge