Jacques Demy l’Enchanteur

Jacques Demy was born on June 5, 1931 in Ponchâteau (Loire Atlantique) and spent his childhood in Nantes in his father’s garage. Nantes was bombed in 1944. He attended technical college and turned his hand to animated films at age of 14. He attended the École de Vaugirard (studying directing and camerawork) in Paris. After working as assistant to Paul Grimaud on advertising films and to Georges Rouquier on two films, Jacques made his first short film at the age of 24: “The Clog-maker of the Val de Loire” (1955).

He then started writing and directing feature films.

Some have become classics of the so-called “Nouvelle Vague”:

“Lola” (1960), which marked the start of his work with Michel Legrand,

“Bay of the Angels” (1962), “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” (1963) (Palme d’Or at the Cannes Festival, Prix Louis Delluc, nominated for an Oscar), “The Young Girls of Rochefort” (1966) and “Donkey Skin” (1970).

Jacques made several films in English: “Model Shop” (1968), “The Pied Piper” (1971) and “Lady Oscar” (1978).

Among his other films is “A Room in Town” (1982), a film in song like “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg”, but this time, it was composed by Michel Colombier.

Demy’s last film, shot in 1988, is a musical (Yves Montand’s first): “Three Places for the 26th” (1988). Music by Michel Legrand.

In it we hear the following lines:

“Dancing movies, singing movies,
Movies, your good humor enchants me,
Laughing movies, happy movies,
Cynical movies, mocking movies,
Violent movies for brawlers,
I don’t care for that kind of movie,
What I prefer is the musical.”

Jacques Demy met Agnès Varda in 1958. They raised Rosalie and Mathieu. Rosalie, a costume designer, worked with her father on four of his films. Mathieu, born in 1972, is an actor and film director.

Jacques Demy died on October 27 1990.

Most of his films have been restored by Ciné-Tamaris under the supervision of Agnès and their children.

The square in front of the town hall in the 14th district of Paris has been called “Place Jacques Demy”.

“In what was almost a fairy tale, Agnès Varda wonderfully recounted the life of Jacquot de Nantes and the birth of a stubborn idea of cinema that had been present since childhood.” (Serge Toubiana, Director of the Cinémathèque Française)