Éric Rohmer

Éric Rohmer was a famous French filmmaker and writer.

He was a key part of the French New Wave. This was a group of directors who changed cinema. Rohmer was the last of this group to become well known. He was a man of many talents. He was a teacher, a journalist, and a novelist too. He even studied history, philosophy, and theology in Paris. He used the name Éric Rohmer as a fake name. He did this so his family would not find out about his film work. He chose this name from two famous artists. One was an actor named Erich von Stroheim. The other was a writer named Sax Rohmer.

Rohmer spent many years working with film magazines. He joined the staff of Cahiers du Cinéma in 1951. He became the editor of this magazine in 1956. He worked there until 1963. He wrote many important articles during this time. One famous article was called "Celluloid and Marble." In it, he said that film is a special kind of poetry. He also wrote a book about the director Alfred Hitchcock. He wrote this book with Claude Chabrol. This book helped people see Hitchcock in a new way. It was one of the most important film books after the Second World War.

Rohmer is very famous for making a series of films. He called these his Six Moral Tales. These stories follow a similar pattern. A man is usually with one woman but feels tempted by another. Eventually, the man returns to the first woman. These films are not just about actions. They are about what people think and feel. Rohmer wanted to show the inside of a person. He used the word "moraliste" to describe this interest. He wanted to explore different ways people deal with their feelings. He even said he wanted to be stubborn with his ideas. He believed that staying true to an idea helps you find followers.

His film career grew in many different ways. He started by making short films with borrowed cameras. In 1959, he made his first big film called The Sign of Leo. Later, he and Barbet Schroeder started a company called Les Films du Losange. This company produced almost all of his work. In 1967, he made La Collectionneuse. This film won a big prize at the Berlin International Film Festival. His most famous success came in 1969 with My Night at Maud's. This film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. It was a big hit with both fans and critics.

Rohmer won many great prizes during his life. He won at the San Sebastián International Film Festival in 1971. He also won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1986. In 2001, he received a special Career Golden Lion in Venice. He worked for a very long time in the film world. One newspaper called him the most durable filmmaker of the French New Wave. This meant he stayed successful even when his friends stopped making movies. He continued to make films that people wanted to see. He passed away in 2010 at the age of 89.