Jean-Daniel Pollet

Born in 1936 in Lille, France, Jean-Daniel Pollet studied the technical aspects of filmmaking as part of his military service. Later, Pollet was an assistant to Julien Duvivier on the set of L'homme à l'imperméable, an experience from which Pollet learned "everything that you shouldn't do."
The youngest member of the French New Wave, Pollet contributed an episode to Paris vu par... (Six of Paris) in 1965, along with fellow New Wave luminaries Eric Rohmer, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol, Jean Rouch and Jean Douchet. Pollet's segment, "Rue Saint-Denis," concerned the famous street of prostitution as evoked by actor Jean-Pierre Melki's visit to a prostitute. Customer and client have a very unusual dinner together.

Ceux d'en faceJean-Pierre Melki (a tailor and non-professional actor) became Pollet's alter ego on the screen with the director's first short film in 1958, Pourvu qu'on ait l'ivresse and repeatedly showed up in many of Pollet's films. After the 1996 release of Pollet's Dieu sait quoi, screenwriter and filmmaker Pascal Bonitzer answers the question: "Who is Jean-Daniel Pollet?" as follows: "Pollet may be one of the greatest poets of our age. A poet by means of moviemaking."

In 1989, Jean-Daniel Pollet was the victim of a rather strange accident when he was hit head-on by a train while standing on the tracks shooting a film. Somehow, Pollet managed to survive and although he is an invalid, has made Dieu sait quoi and now, Ceux d'en face.

Filmography

Ceux d'en face (2000)
Dieu sait quoi (1994)
Trois jours en Grèce (1991)
Contretemps (1988)
Pour mémoire (1978)
L'Acrobate (1976)
L'Ordre (1973)
Le sang (1971)
Le maitre du monde (1970)
L'amour c'est gai, l'amour c'est triste (1968)
Rue saint-Denis - part of Paris vu par... (Six of Paris) 1965
Méditerranée (1963)
Pourvu qu'on ait l'ivresse (1958) short film

Glenn Myrent