Jean-Luc Godard, Godfather of French new wave cinema, dies at 91

Film director Jean-Luc Godard, the Godfather of France’s New Wave cinema, died on Tuesday, said newspaper Liberation and other French media. He was 91. Godard was among the world’s most acclaimed directors, best known for classics such as ‘Breathless’ and ‘Contempt’.

He is also best known for his seminal work of the 1960s, including ‘Le Petit Soldat’, which was banned until 1963, and starred his future wife, Anna Karina.

Godard and Karina were married from 1961 to 1965.

Godard met filmmaker Anne-Marie Miéville in 1970 and the duo became regular collaborators. Anna-Marie became his romantic partner after his second marriage to actress and writer Anne Wiazemsky, who had starred in his 1967 political satire ‘La Chinoise’, ended.

Jean-Luc Godard has won major European film awards including Berlin’s Golden Bear for ‘Alphaville’ (1965) and the Golden Lion at Venice for ‘First Name: Carmen’. However, he never received a competitive Academy Award nomination. Godard was awarded an honorary Oscar in 2010 but he skipped the ceremony.