French cinema magazines in 1946/7 called filmmakers/directors artists and instead of using a pen to create their art they use cameras and that each of these artist owned the film, (a Hitchcock film is a Hitchcock film not a Paramount Studios film). Alexandre Astruc a popular film critique described a camera as a “camera pen” as it is a tool used to create art just as a pen is traditionally used to create art.
Andre Bazin co-founded a French cinema magazine called “Cahiers du Cinema” or ‘Notebooks on Cinema’ in 1951. It employed Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut; them along with others came up with a list of principles for auteur theory (“La politique des auteurs”). (An auteur is a film director who influences their films so much that they rank as their author). It made up the major tenants of the French New Wave. These were: an emphasis on the realism of mise-en-scene (giving an objective view of the world and helped with low budgets as no sets would have to be constructed), to use long takes and deep focus to achieve realism and made the viewer more active and enabled them to interpret what they are seeing, and the most important principle is that the film should be a conversation between the auteur and the audience.
The majority of French films were hollow adaptions of famous novels, lacking any vision from the director. So in 1958, Truffaut deemed the Cannes film festival (Showcasing of the best 12 French films made that year) for awarding these uninspired mediocrity, which got him banned from the festival. Because of this Truffaut made a film of his own called “The 400 Blows” which was about a troubled youth. He used his years of critiquing to help him create a masterpiece. He showed loads of people when his film got into Cannes Film Festival, where Truffaut went on to win the best director prize. This paved the way for other Cahier writers to make their own films.
One of these Cahier writers that made one was Jean Luc Godard and his film “Breathless” (1960). Which he used jump cuts, in which a single shot would appear to jump forward in time. His use of jump cuts purposely distanced the audience from the story and made it clear that they were watching a film. This is normally forbidden in typical film-making.
The French New Wave changed cinema and gave a voice to the voiceless. It also showed you don’t need the studio system or huge budgets to make great films. This inspired the filmmakers outside of France and played a role in starting the American New Wave.
The French New Wave filmmakers showed all other filmmakers that you don’t need elaborate sets or the latest and best equipment to make a great film. All you really need is a vision.