Ensemble: The Filmmakers from Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague

‘This era has meant so much to me and my filmmaking. It represented freedom and the notion of the personal film.’
– Richard Linklater

Richard Linklater credited Breathless and the French New Wave as having changed his life, putting him on course to become a filmmaker. The revolutionary spirit he found in these films encouraged him to do the same – pulling together a community of enthusiastic cinephiles with little money to create Slacker. Linklater’s gratitude towards Godard has burned passionately ever since, fuelling his latest work, a love letter to the movement. Nouvelle Vague recreates the era and the people behind Breathless, allowing us to hang out with New Wave filmmakers, their satellites and their influences.

This season presents a range of significant films made by these individuals, offering a chance to immerse yourself in one of the most exciting periods of film history. Whether you’re revisiting these films or discovering them for the very first time, we hope they will spark the same sense of freedom, joy and invention for you that they did for a young Linklater.

Diana Cipriano and Kimberley Sheehan, season curators

With thanks to

Season Programme Assistant Sean Atkinson

Releases

Nouvelle Vague (Preview screenings)

Richard Linklater recreates the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s seminal feature debut, penning a nostalgic love letter to the rebellious spirit of the French New Wave.

Nouvelle Vague

Richard Linklater recreates the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s seminal feature debut, penning a nostalgic love letter to the rebellious spirit of the French New Wave.

Season programme

Breathless

Jean-Paul Belmondo’s cop killer-on-the-run turns to Jean Seberg’s young American for help in Godard’s landmark film.

The 400 Blows

Truffaut’s landmark film of the French New Wave is one of greatest films about childhood.

Pickpocket

One of Bresson’s most influential works, lauded by Godard as the best film of 1959, is a gripping portrayal of a young man in turmoil.

Pickpocket + intro by Muriel Zagha, writer and broadcaster on film, and co-host of cross-cultural podcast Garlic & Pearls

One of Bresson’s most influential works, lauded by Godard as the best film of 1959, is a gripping portrayal of a young man in turmoil.

Léon Morin, prêtre

Jean-Pierre Melville bares his soul with this sublime tale of theology and repressed desire, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo.

Léon Morin, prêtre + intro by season curator Diana Cipriano

Jean-Pierre Melville bares his soul with this sublime tale of theology and repressed desire, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo.

Les Cousins

Claude Chabrol’s tragic clash of innocence and decadence won the Berlin Golden Bear in 1959 and was the first New Wave film released in Britain.

Les Cousins + intro by season curator Diana Cipriano

Claude Chabrol’s tragic clash of innocence and decadence won the Berlin Golden Bear in 1959 and was the first New Wave film released in Britain.

Journey to Italy

Roberto Rossellini’s landmark exploration of marital crisis is a key precursor to the French New Wave and a work of cinematic poetry.

Out 1: Noli me tangere

One of the most exciting, radical and immersive films of the French New Wave is a cinema experience quite unlike any other.

Paris nous appartient

An underseen early French New Wave landmark, Jacques Rivette’s superb feature debut pulsates with the turmoil of an emerging cinematic revolution.

Le Bonheur

Radical, provocative and one of Agnès Varda’s most piercing works, Le Bonheur embraces a painterly palette to examine a marriage during the sexual revolution.

Le Bonheur + intro by film critic Christina Newland

Radical, provocative and one of Agnès Varda’s most piercing works, Le Bonheur embraces a painterly palette to examine a marriage during the sexual revolution.