Michel Deville
# Michel Deville

Michel Deville (13 April 1931 – 16 February 2023) was a French film director and screenwriter.

Deville started his filmmaking career in the late 1950s, paralleling the emergence of the French New Wave directors. He never achieved the level of critical and international recognition of some of his contemporaries such as François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard and Claude Chabrol, possibly because of his more conventional filmmaking style. Nevertheless, his films, especially his comedies from the 1970s and 1980s, were popular in his native France.

One of Deville's comedies, La Lectrice (The Reader) was probably his biggest success with international audiences. La Lectrice is about a woman (played by Miou-Miou), who finds work reading novels for the blind but gradually finds herself unwittingly attracting a clientele of fetishists who enjoyed being read to. At one time his films were difficult to find in North America but presently (2007) seven of his films are available in DVD in the U.S.

His 1980 film Le Voyage en douce was entered into the 30th Berlin International Film Festival. Five years later, his film Death in a French Garden was entered into the 35th Berlin International Film Festival.

A clip from his 1968 film Benjamin is included in Robert Bresson's Une Femme Douce (1969).

Deville died on 16 February 2023, at the age of 91.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Credited as | Credited as | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Year | Title | Director | Screenwriter | Notes |
| 1958 | A Bullet in the Gun Barrel | Yes | Yes | |
| 1961 | Tonight or Never | Yes | Yes | |
| 1962 | Adorable Liar | Yes | Yes | |
| 1963 | Because, Because of a Woman | Yes | Yes | Also as producer |
| 1963 | Girl's Apartment | Yes | Yes | |
| 1964 | Les Petites Demoiselles | Yes | Yes | Telefilm |
| 1964 | Lucky Jo | Yes | Yes | |
| 1966 | The Mona Lisa Has Been Stolen | Yes | Yes | |
| 1966 | Martin Soldat | Yes | Yes | |
| 1967 | Zärtliche Haie | Yes | | |
| 1968 | Benjamin | Yes | Yes | Louis Delluc Prize for Best Film |
| 1969 | Bye bye, Barbara | Yes | Yes | |
| 1970 | The Bear and the Doll | Yes | Yes | |
| 1971 | Raphael, or The Debauched One | Yes | | Nominated—1971 Cannes Film Festival - Palme d'Or |
| 1973 | The Woman in Blue | Yes | | |
| 1974 | Love at the Top | Yes | | |
| 1977 | The Apprentice Heel | Yes | Yes | |
| 1978 | Dossier 51 | Yes | Yes | César Award for Best Writing French Syndicate of Cinema Critics - Best French Film Nominated—1978 Cannes Film Festival - Prix Un certain regard Nominated—César Award for Best Film Nominated—César Award for Best Director |
| 1980 | Le Voyage en douce | Yes | Yes | Nominated—30th Berlin International Film Festival - Golden Bear |
| 1981 | Eaux profondes | Yes | Yes | |
| 1983 | The Little Bunch | Yes | | |
| 1984 | Les Capricieux | Yes | | Telefilm |
| 1985 | Death in a French Garden | Yes | Yes | César Award for Best Director Nominated—35th Berlin International Film Festival - Golden Bear Nominated—César Award for Best Film Nominated—César Award for Best Writing |
| 1986 | Paltoquet | Yes | Yes | |
| 1988 | The Reader | Yes | Yes | French Syndicate of Cinema Critics - Best French Film Louis Delluc Prize for Best Film Montreal World Film Festival - Grand Prix des Amériques Nominated—César Award for Best Film Nominated—César Award for Best Director Nominated—César Award for Best Writing |
| 1990 | Summer Night in Town | Yes | | |
| 1991 | Lest We Forget | Yes | | Segment: "Pour Nguyen Chi Thien, Vietnam" |
| 1992 | Toutes peines confondues | Yes | | |
| 1994 | Aux petits bonheurs | Yes | | |
| 1997 | La Divine Poursuite | Yes | Yes | |
| 1999 | Sachs' Disease | Yes | Yes | Chicago International Film Festival - Gold Hugo French Syndicate of Cinema Critics - Best French Film San Sebastián International Film Festival - Silver Shell for Best Director San Sebastián International Film Festival - Best Screenplay San Sebastián International Film Festival - Solidarity Award Nominated—César Award for Best Director Nominated—César Award for Best Writing |
| 2002 | Almost Peaceful | Yes | Yes | Nominated—59th Venice International Film Festival - Golden Lion |
| 2005 | The Art of Breaking Up | Yes | | |
