The prolific Swiss director Alain Tanner, considered a pioneer of the New Wave cinematographic movement in his country, died on Sunday at the age of 92, announced the association that bears his name.
“Internationally recognized, Alain Tanner was one of the leading figures of Swiss cinema and was at the origin of the new Swiss cinema in the 1970s in the company of his colleagues Michel Soutter, Claude Goretta, Jean-Louis Roy and Jean-Jacques Barn”she wrote in a press release. “in consultation with his family”.
This “Group of Five” sparked a revival of the Swiss seventh art reflecting the spirit of non-conformity of the time.
Charles, Dead or Alivethe first feature film, released in 1969, by Alain Tanner, a contemporary of the New Wave in France, marks the beginning of politically engaged cinema in Switzerland.
This film, which tells the story of a businessman who decides to abandon the traditional capitalist life to lead a life on the fringes of society, at a time when student protests are raging, won the first prize of the festival from Locarno.
Among his most famous works are The Salamander, Jonas who will be 25 in the year 2000, The Light Yearswhich won the Special Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1981, or even In the White City.
With a total of over twenty films to his name, Alain Tanner began his career in the late 1950s. According to the Association Alain Tanner website, he said he considered himself lucky to have lived at that time.