Alain Cavalier was born in Vendôme, France in 1931. After decades of making films with actors and large-scale production crews, he broke entirely from the industry′s conventional filmmaking methods following the success of Thérèse (1986), which won the César Award for Best Film and Best Director. Since then, working with a single digital camera, he has continued as a self-styled "filmer," recording his own life and everyday encounters without concealment, directing Encounters (1996), Life (2000), Le Filmeur (2005), and Friendship (2022), building a singular body of work that dissolves the boundary between documentary and fiction. Still active at 94, he is regarded as a living legend of French cinema. His latest film, Thanks for Coming, positioned as the final chapter of his video diary series, had its world premiere as a special screening at the 2026 Cannes Directors′ Fortnight.
From Busan International Film Festival 2026, No. 31
