This morning I wrote Film Society of Lincoln Center programming director Kent Jones about his new feature-length documentary Hitchcock/Truffaut, which will screen during the forthcoming 2015 Cannes Film Festival. Jones directed and co-wrote with Cinemathèque Française director Serge Toubiana. I’m a huge fan of A Letter to Elia, a 2010 doc that Jones co-directed with Martin Scorsese, and all my filmgoing life I’ve worshipped Francois Truffaut‘s landmark q & a book “Hitchcock/Truffaut,” so I’m pumped for the newbie. I wanted to do a brief phoner but Jones has just landed in Paris to apply final tweaks so maybe we’ll talk tomorrow. Or not.
Boilerplate: “The film will journey through the extensive series of conversations between Hitchcock and Truffaut, illustrating their love for filmmaking and demonstrating their impact on modern world cinema. Legendary scenes from Hitchcock’s films, intercut with comment and opinion from contemporary filmmakers, will reinforce his iconic stature as one of the most influential directors of our time.”
Hitchcock/Truffaut, an American-French co-production produced by Cohen Media Group, Artline Films and Arte, will presumably be released later this year.”
More boilerplate: “Since its publication, the 1967 book has been dubbed the “bible of cinema” by many international filmmakers. As such, the film will feature interviews and accounts from some of the most prominent and influential directors in world cinema including Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, James Gray, Brian De Palma, Wes Anderson, Richard Linklater, Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Olivier Assayas, Arnaud Desplechin and David Fincher. These directors will share how ‘Hitchcock/Truffaut‘ shaped their careers, transformed cinema and introduced the French New Wave and ‘New Hollywood’ to the world.”