Prominent Swiss Filmmaker, Alain Tanner, dies at 92

Alain Tanner was a Swiss film director. Tanner was an internationally renowned director with more than two dozen films to his name, who began his career in the late 1950s.

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Swiss film director passed away at 92

“Alain Tanner was one of the beacons of Swiss cinema,” his organization said in a statement published in conjunction with his family. A contemporary of the French New Wave, he is credited with helping start Switzerland‘s own, smaller new wave in the 1970s, along with colleagues Miche Soutter, Claude Goretta, Jean-Louis Roy, and Jean-Jacques Lagrange.

Their “Group of 5” fostered a revival in Swiss films reflecting the era’s ethos of nonconformity. Tanner’s first full-length feature film, “Charles, Dead or Alive”, which premiered in 1969, marked the beginning of politically involved cinema in Switzerland.

That film, which depicts the narrative of a businessman who decides to quit mainstream capitalist life to take up a marginal living on the outskirts of society as student protests rage, earned the top prize at the Locarono film festival. Among his best-known pictures are “Jonas who will be 25 in the Year 2000,” from 1976, and “Light Years Away”, which received the Grand Prix at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival.

On his foundation’s website, he is cited as saying he felt blessed to have been born when he was. “Over 50 years, throughout the second half of the last century, I lived through was arguably the most fascinating for film, with the questioning of the old styles, the break with old structures and the coming of modernity,” he remarked.

Alain Tanner Age, Family, Early Life

Alain Tanner was born on 6 December 1929 (92 years old) in Geneva, Switzerland. He holds a Switzerland Nationality and he belongs to white ethnicity.  His Zodiac sign is Sagittarius.

alain tanner age

Alain Tanner has prohibited the media from knowing specifics about his family, therefore there are no details available.

Alain Tanner Girlfriend/Wife, What about his Children?

It seems that Alain Tanner is a married guy with children. Therefore, there is no information on his relationship or children available.

Alain Tanner Career, What was his profession?

Alain Tanner found work at the British Film Institute in 1955, subtitling, translating, and organizing the archive. His debut film, Nice Time (1957), a short documentary film about Piccadilly Circus during weekend evenings, was made with Claude Goretta. Produced by the British Film Institute Experimental Film Fund, it was initially presented as part of the third Free Cinema programming at the National Film Theatre in May 1957.

The debut feature won a prize at the film festival in Venice and significant critical appreciation. Tanner traveled to France for a spell where he contributed to various commercial films. There, he met some of the most significant directors of the French New Wave in Paris as well as Henri Langlois, the director of the Cinémathèque Française. But the atmosphere in the film circles of Paris irritated him; he regarded it as “cutthroat.” Between 1960 and 1968, Tanner returned to Switzerland, and he made more than 40 films as well as documentaries for French-language television there.

 In 1962, he became the co-founder of the Swiss young filmmakers’ “Groupe Cinque.” His debut feature film, Charles, Dead or Alive (1969), earned the first prize at the international film festival in Locarno. His next two films, La Salamandre (1971) and Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000 (1976), were made in close collaboration with the art critic and novelist John Berger, who had also worked with him, to a lesser degree and without credit, on the screenplay of Charles.

Free Cinema

Influenced by his involvement with the British “Free Cinema” movement in London and with the French New Wave during his years in Paris, Tanner is best known for his movies Jonas qui aura 25 ans en l’an 2000 (Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000), Messidor and Dans la ville blanche (In the White City) (In the White City). Dans la city blanche, starring Bruno Ganz and shot in Lisbon, was accepted into the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival. Light Years Away, his only English language picture shot in Ireland, earned the Grand Prix Prize at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival.

How much is Alain Tanner Net Worth?

Alain Tanner’s net worth has yet to be published. We’ll keep you updated if we come across any new information about his net worth.

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Which school and college did he go to?

Tanner studied economics at the University of Geneva. In 1951, he joined the film club that Claude Goretta had recently established at the university.

After his education and a short period working for multinational shipping corporations, he was pulled to movies.

Is he available on any kind of social media platform?

We also looked for Alain Tanner on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media platforms but were unable to locate him. He must have a social media account under a different name, or he may not have any.

Physical Appearance of Alain Tanner’s Height, Weight

HeightNot Available
Hair ColorBlack and white
Eye colorBrown
WeightNot Available
Body typeFit
Sexual orientationStraight

Interesting facts about Alain Tanner’s should be knows

NationalitySwitzerland
EthnicityWhite
Zodiac signSagittarius
Relationship StatusSingle

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