Bertrand Tavernier

Daniel is schoolmaster of a kindergarten in a small French town. The local economy, which depended entirely on coal production, has been mired in a depression ever since the mines were closed. When their parents fall into utter discouragement or even poverty because of prolonged unemployment, the children suffer the consequences. Daniel is confronted daily with difficult situations and he feels responsible to deal with them although they are outside the scope of his responsibilities. (imdb)

In occupied France, German-run Continental Films calls the shots in the movie business. Assistant director and Resistance activist Jean Devaivre works for Continental, where he can get "in between the wolf's teeth and avoid being chewed up". Fast-living screenwriter Jean Aurenche uses every possible argument to avoid working for the enemy. For both, wartime is a battle for survival.

Bulgaria near the end of World War I: Conan, warrior and wolf, leads a band of 50 ruthless French fighters who love hand-to-hand combat... (imdb)

Paris, 1959. The tenor sax player who has just been booked at the Blue Note was once known as one of the greats... (imdb)

1938, in a French african colony. Lucien Cordier is the cop of this village, populated with blacks and a few whites (usually dumb, racialist and lustful) (imdb)

In France, before WWI. As every Sunday, an old painter living in the country is visited by his son Gonzague... (imdb)

Roddy has a camera implanted in his brain. He is then hired by a television producer to film a documentary of terminally ill Katherine, without her knowledge. His footage will then be run on the popular TV series, "Death Watch". (imdb)

This gritty police drama shows us the underbelly of the Parisian drug trade. Lulu is a tough streetwise narcotics cop who, like a Frank Serpico or a Dirty Harry Callahan, doesn't play by the rules or kowtow to his weak and/or corrupt superiors. Lulu thrives in this violent world, where sheer guts can overcome his squad's deficiencies of money and equipment. Despite the ruthless environment that he lives and works in every day, he still manages somehow to maintain his humanity. (imdb)

Three adolescents, a girl who serves as the priming and two boys, kill two men cold blooded who were known by the girl only for to steal the money of them. With the money the three want to open a shop for clothing in the United States. But their dream turns out to be more difficult to realize than the assassination. (imdb)

France, 1719. Louis 14th died four years ago, Philippe d'Orleans is the regent. He is a liberal and a libertine. His right-hand man, Dubois, an atheistic and cupid priest, as libertine as Philippe, tries to take advantage of a little rebellion lead by a Breton squire and of the famine to become archbishop... Description of the life of the court in this period of transition where the French Revolution smoulders.

France, 1893. Joseph Bouvier, a former Sergeant in the French military, shoots his beloved and attempts to kill himself. Having survived with two bullets in his brain, he is released from the Dole medical facility. Then begins a five-year period of wandering on the roads of the South East of France, during which Bouvier rapes and eventually kills two dozen defenseless shepherds and farm servants of both sexes. (imdb)

A detective in the deep South is led into a series of surreal encounters with a troop of Confederate soldiers.

Michel Descombes is a watchmaker in the district of Saint-Paul, Lyons. He lives quietly, alone with his almost grown-up son, Bernard. One day, the police come and say Bernard murdered a FACTORY OWNER. Superintendent Guiboud asks Michel for help. But Michel realizes how little he knows about his son. He also starts to feel he is unable to blame his son. (imdb)

Intense character study of men and women driven by an overpowering obsession with the past. (imdb)

Somewhere in France during the Middle Ages. Béatrice is impatient to see her father return from English captivity. She doesn't expect however that the father whom she loves from distance will be the most hateful person who will submit her and her family to abuse and humiliation. (imdb)

A French couple travel to Cambodia in order to adopt a child.

This film tells the story of Eloise, the daughter of D'Artagnan, one of the three Musketeers. Left in a nunnery and dedicated to helping the less fortunate, Eloise discovers a conspiracy to overthrow the king of France. She enlists the aid of her father and the rest of the great--yet retired--Musketeers to thwart the plan. Enduring heart-stopping sword fights and ruthless treachery, Eloise and the Musketeers find themselves embroiled in the fight of their lives.

The setting is the Riviera in autumn. A retired English businessman has just been through heart surgery but it has, apparently, done little to relieve his constant pain or improve his long-term survival prospects. During his recuperation Caroline, his adult daughter, comes from Paris to be with him and her mother, Miche, and she and her father begin to communicate as adults for the first time. (imdb)

A touching portrait of modern life, whether showing the human dimension of large issues, or deftly detailing the intimate reverberations of a casual love affair. (imdb)

Laurence, a young schoolteacher from Lyons, takes a week's leave. During the break, she reflects on her career and her personal life. (imdb)

A tale of the passions and tragic fate of a princess, a rich heiress of a French kingdom under threat in the wars of religion of 1562. In love with the Duke of Guise since she was a child, she is forced to marry the Prince of Montpensier. (New York Times)

A political satire about a dashing, globetrotting French foreign minister whose charm and insouciance mask his utter and complete incompetence. (tiff.net)

Bertrand Tavernier's personal journey through French cinema, from films he enjoyed as a boy to his own early career, told through portraits of key creative figures.

Tavernier brings one of his heroes back to their home state.

A documentary on the life of soldiers during the Algierian war of independence.