Summarise what Astruc meant by the term “Auteur” and give some examples of the films cited by the movement as being created by Auteur directors.

Alexandre Astruc was a French film scholar, who played a major role in the French New Wave movement. With the notable addition of André Bazin, whose work in the Cahiers du cinéma (1951) influenced a generation of film makers, directors, critics, and scholars. Astruc recognised film as a form of “audio visual” language (caméra-stylo), a direct conversation with the Auteur and the audience.

• The Auteur (director) manages all audio and visual elements of motion picture
• Director is recognised as an author, and their film is their work of literature
• The visual elements of the picture : placement, lighting, Mise En Scene, etc.