Éric Rohmer

Career overview

Éric Rohmer was a French film director whose career was closely linked to the post‑war New Wave cinema movement. Born in Tulle, Corrèze, France, he entered the film world not only as a director but also as a critic, journalist, novelist, screenwriter and teacher. Over the course of his professional life he accumulated more than one hundred directing credits, a fact reflected in his extensive filmography. Rohmer’s reputation as a director grew alongside his work as an influential voice in film criticism; he served as editor of the prominent journal Cahiers du cinéma from 1957 until 1963, a period during which the publication helped shape the aesthetic and theoretical foundations of the New Wave. His contemporaries included other leading French filmmakers such as Jean‑Luc Godard and François Truffaut, and he is noted as the last of the post‑World War II French New Wave directors to achieve widespread recognition.

Throughout his directing career Rohmer remained committed to a personal cinematic style that emphasized dialogue, moral nuance and everyday situations. He continued to work actively in film until his death on 11 January 2010 at the age of 89. In addition to his directing work, he was also known by the name Maurice Schérer, reflecting his birth name. His contributions as both a filmmaker and a critic have left a lasting imprint on French cinema and its critical discourse.