The prolific Swiss director Alain Tanner, considered a pioneer of the New Wave film movement in his country, died on Sunday, September 11, 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 alive, the first feature film (1969) by Alain Tanner, marks the beginning of politically engaged cinema in Switzerland. This film, which tells the story of a businessman who decided 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 at the Festival from Locarno.
Among his best-known 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. Alain Tanner began his career at the end of the 1950s, and directed more than twenty films.