French New Wave
To mark the arrival of Nouvelle Vague, Richard Linklater’s joyful homage to the French New Wave, explore a selection of films from one of the most exciting periods of film history.
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. 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.