La nuit américaine

Many films about film, also those included in this programme, owe something to this outspoken classic in the genre. With much love and a great sense of humour, Truffaut points the camera at filmmaking itself. The filmmaking he loved so much, but just a little different (and bigger) than he would do it himself. Truffaut had the idea for this film when he visited the deserted set of an American film. The mirror is just distorted enough to make the image a little false and satirical. Like many other Truffaut films, this one also comprises clear autobiographical elements. The film was shot in and around the old Victorine Studios in Nice, where films were made as far back as the silent era.Ferrand, the filmmaker in the film (a role played by Truffaut himself), is a seasoned craftsman who doesn’t really worry about the result. He is shooting a film called Je vous présente Pamela (Meeting Pamela). JeanPierre Léaud (also Truffaut’s alter ego, see also Le pornographe) introduces his English bride Julie Baker (Jacqueline Bisset) to his parents. This storyline was clearly conceived for the film in the film to get a star on the poster. Every conceivable rumour about swooning divas, artistic and productional quarrels and passionate, but brief affairs that could echo around a film set are incorporated into the film with nice variations.