In his thirties he played a pivotal role in the
French New Wave, discussing the beginnings of "the new cinema" as the co-founder of
Cahiers du cinéma and defended
Alain Robbe-Grillet.
Jean Douchet wrote that no one had a better New Wave profile, but his work "was overshadowed by the immediate influence of the second generation" of New Wave directors: "His first feature film, ''l'Eau à la bouche'' (1960), arrived too late. Not strong enough to surprise, the film earned him only 'sympathetic' reviews. From then on ... criticism displayed a certain distance from the man. Wrongly, it seems." In 1963 he appeared in ''
L'Immortelle'', an international co-produced
drama art film directed by
Alain Robbe-Grillet. His own works in this area include directing the film ''
L'eau a la bouche'' and acting in some New Wave films, including
Chantal Akerman's
cult classic Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles. Additionally he was friends with
François Truffaut who shot his first film
Une Visite in his apartment. He was married to
Françoise Brion. The
Director’s Fortnight, founded in 1968 during the nationwide strikes which closed down the
Cannes Film Festival that year, was the brainchild of Jacques Doniol-Valcroze. The event was sponsored by his fledgling Société des Réalisateurs de Films (Film Directors Society) with the intention of "...opening up the Cannes Festival to little-known filmmakers and national cinemas, without concern for budgets or shooting formats." He died of a ruptured aneurysm in 1989. ==Filmography==