Antoine Bonfanti

Antoine Bonfanti (23 October 1923 – 4 March 2006) was a French sound engineer and a professor at cinema schools and institutes in France and other countries. He taught at INSAS in Brussels and EICTV in Cuba. Early life He was born 26 October 1923 in Ajaccio, Corsica, and died 4 March 2006 in Montpellier, France.

Career

alt=Antoine Bonfanti, "Toujours dire, raconter, convaincre..." He began learning his profession as a trainee boom-operator on the film La Belle et la Bête by Jean Cocteau. He is considered one of the pioneers of direct-sound in film-making on location: "the school of direct-sound is French—said sound-engineer Jean-Pierre Ruh—it began with Antoine Bonfanti".

He is known for his collaborations with directors as Bernardo Bertolucci, André Delvaux, Amos Gitaï, Jean Luc Godard, Joris Ivens, William Klein, Chris Marker, Gérard Oury, Alain Resnais, René Vautier, and Paul Vecchiali (see filmography below).

Bonfanti's primary occupation is the authenticity of sound: above all he likes building the whole universe of sound of one film, through every stage from filming to sound-mixing. In this pattern, he had 120 films of which 80 feature films. His filmography includes about 420 titles of long and short Films of fiction or documentary; and within this number, some can be still missing because–as involved in cinema as in politics—Antoine did lots of "for free" that may have not been listed.

Member of the Résistance and volunteer soldier in the years of 1943-1945, militant, communist by spirit, and vigilante, he was a part of SLON collective—which later became ISKRA - and of the Medvedkine-groups.

He shared his sound-artist's talent and he has trained several generations of sound-engineers in many countries (Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Chile, Cuba, Morocco, Mozambique, Peru, Portugal, Tunisia, Venezuela), where cinema is a form of resistance.

The film Antoine Bonfanti—Traces sonores d'une écoute engagée, directed by Suzanne Durand, traces more than 50 years of Bonfanti's professional career, highlighting his collaborations with numerous filmmakers and his approach to sound practice beyond its technical aspects.

Bonfanti himself recounts this in an interview by Noël Simsolo on France-Culture, called "Mémoire du siècle, Antoine Bonfanti" on 20 August 1997, broadcast during "Les Nuits de France-Culture" at midnight of 25 January 2016.

Biography

Antoine, nicknamed "Nono" by his Corsican family, "Toni" by his war comrades, "Bonbon" within the world of cinema, was born in Ajaccio in 1923. The family leaves again for Africa in 1926, having already spent some years in Conakry in "République de Guinée", (formerly "Guinée française"). His father is "receveur principal des postes" in Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina-Faso (formerly "Haute-Volta"). Antoine spends some of his youth there but, when his eldest brother must go to high-school, the family returns to Corsica, before his father be appointed "percepteur" (tax-collector) at Saint-Rambert d'Alban, and after at Touquet-Paris-Plage.

As a child, he discovers the paroquial-cine in Corsica. At Touquet, the family goes to the cinema pretty often. He remembers fondly the showing of the film "Les marins de Kronstadt" d'Efim Dzigan, organised by his father to mark the death of Roger Salengro in 1936, where spectators leave the theater singing "l'Internationale". He is 13 during the "Front populaire". At Boulogne-sur-Mer in the boarding-school at the "Collège Mariette" - and on his train journeys - he uses to pass near the steelworks, red flags hanging from the rooftops; and he remains very touched by the workers who were raising their fists to salute the train. The "pros and con" fight in the school-yard. There, Antoine "has been lucky enough to have Jean Marcenac as his teacher of Philosophy and French, who opened up the eyes and his library".

His political awareness began in June 1940, after the "drôle de guerre". He didn't understand Paul Reynaud's phrase who said after the debacle: "I don't believe in miracles, but if someone were to tell me that a single miracle could save France, I'd believe in that miracle". But two days later the Germans were occupying Touquet.

Later, boarding at College in Orléans (his "correspondent" is a Corsican chief of police), he was expelled in November 1941 for knocking out the chief-supervisor who deprives him of his meal; Antoine was a lightweight boxer and competitive swimmer.

He feels the pull of the resistance. He produces pamphlets on linoleum "in private", and tries on several times to reach England by small boats with friends. He is becoming dangerous for his father who is part of one resistance-movement; and when Antoine is called up, in May 1942, for the construction of the "Mur de l'Atlantique", his father orders him to escape to Corsica (it's his formerly correspondent who obtains a pass for him). He then forms part of the " Résistance armée urbaine" at the "Front National" (at this time: Front national pour la libération et l'indépendance de la France): "we were in a war of liberation against the Germans, and also in a war of revolution against the Petain-regime". In 1943, he commit himself as voluntary-soldier in the "Bataillon de choc". He becomes "chasseur" in the fourth company. After the Toulon-loading, his batallon goes up as far as Tyrol; Antoine loses numerous comrades on the way. To his great detriment, he is only demobilized in September 1945.

He has two children from a first marriage, Jean-Claude and Francis. Years later, he married Maryvon Le Brishoual whom he met in Brazil in 1968, during the filming of "Le grabuge" (O tumulto) by Edouard Luntz, produced by Fox. They have three children: Kalanna, Solène and Maël.

In 1946, he took correspondence lessons from the "Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers"; and thanks to his cousin, Mathieu Bonfanti, he was chosen as boomer-trainee on " La belle et la bête" by Jean Cocteau, at the "Studios de St Maurice" where, in the following time, he learns all the roles, all the trades of sound. In 1948, he started to work at " Radiodiffusion française" (which become RTF en 1949 and ORTF in 1964) where he learns " à faire ce qu'il ne faut pas faire" (what not to do). Ardent militant, he fights against the American politics which refuses to accept quotas; but with the "Accords Blum-Byrnes", Léon Blum sacrifices French cinema, in order "to put France back on the right track" with the Plan Marshall accepted, and announced in June 1947.

In 1962, he began teaching several times a year at l'INSAS in Brussels.

He took a keen interest by Cuba in 1963 during the filming of the documentary of Claude Otzenberger "Fidel si, Fidel no" ("Cuba 63"). He donated then to the ICAIC his favorite appliances (Nagra III and his fetish micro Beyerdynamic M 160). For him "Cuba is the discovery of a single application of a socialist concept, but the Cubans, remarkable people, don't deserve what they were to endure afterwards". He is rebelling constantly against l'embargo (called blocus in Cuba) that U.S.A. established in 1962, and still applied.

In 1989, he began teaching at EICTV each year until February 1999.

Antoine Bonfanti and directors, René Vautier, Yann Le Masson, Bruno Muel, and Jacqueline Meppiel, were very close, but he wasn't one to exclude anyone due to political differences, the only thing important to him was that he could "make his sound to become the sound of the film". When he has that freedom, the actors of his films are more likely to improvise and can't be dubbed in post-production (as Louis de Funès in the films of Gérard Oury).

He is invited to talks, seminars and conferences on sound, is a jury member or president at film festivals, but he is mostly solicited to institutes, centers and cinema schools in numerous countries; the Cinemathèque of Lisbonne devoted a week to him in 1985.

Filmography Filmography of his different sound collaborations and at different novels according to the years; (the dates of the films - Long or Short, fiction or documentary - are those of filming or release). 1945-48 : Studios de Saint-Maurice 1946 : La Belle et la Bête de Jean Cocteau 1948-50 : la Radiodiffusion française 1950-56 : Auditorium MGM-France 1955 : Afrique-sur-Seine de Paulin Soumanou Vieyra 1956 : Un général revient de René Vautier 1956-61 : Auditorium "la SIMO" (Direction Jean Neny), Studios de Boulogne 1956 : Les Aventures de Till L'Espiègle de Joris Ivens/Gérard Philippe 1957 : Les Marines de François Reichenbach 1958 : Hiroshima mon amour d'Alain Resnais 1959 : Os Bandeirantes de Marcel Camus 1960 : Les honneurs de la guerre de Jean Devewer 1960 : Magritte ou la leçon de choses de Luc de Heusch 1961 : L'oiseau de paradis de Marcel Camus 1962 : La Jetée de Chris Marker de Chris Marker de Jacques Panijel 1963 : Neuf émissions sur le cinéma polonais d'André Delvaux 1963 : Fidel si Fidel no (Cuba 63) de Claude Otzenberger 1963 : Les plus belles escroqueries du monde de Jean-Luc Godard 1963 : À Valparaíso de Joris Ivens 1966 : La terre et la boue de Joris Ivens 1967 : Les jeunes loups de Marcel Carné 1967 : Un soir, un train d'André Delvaux 1967 : Je t'aime, je t'aime d'Alain Resnais 1967 : La Sixième face du Pentagone de Chris Marker du Groupe Medvedkine (Pol Cèbe) 1968 : Sept jours ailleurs de Marin Karmitz 1969 : La Panaf (Festival Panafricain) de William Klein 1969 : Eldridge Cleaver de William Klein 1969 : Tout peut arriver de Philippe Labro 1969 : Le Dernier Saut d'Edouard Luntz 1969 : La Maison des bories de Jacques Doniol-Volcroze 1969 : Lettres de Stalingrad de Gilles Kast 1969 : Le peuple et ses fusils de Joris Ivens de Michel Desrois 1971 : Paulina 1880 de Jean-Louis Bertuccelli 1971 : Week-end à Sochaux de Bruno Muel 1971 : La Folie des grandeurs de Gérard Oury 1971 : Concerts de Stockhausen au Liban d'Anne-Marie Deshayes 1971 : Belle d'André Delvaux 1971 : L'homme de feu de Claude Caillou 1971 : L'humeur vagabonde d'Edouard Luntz 1971 : Lo Païs de Gérard Guérin 1971 : Meurtre à la radio de Jacques Bral 1971 : Avoir vingt ans dans les Aurès de René Vautier 1971 : Le train en marche de Chris Marker de Miroslav Sebestik 1971 : La Cicatrice intérieure de Philippe Garrel 1972 : Athanor de Philippe Garrel 1972 : Sans sommation de Bruno Gantillon 1972 : Une baleine qui avait mal aux dents de Jacques Bral 1972 : Une belle fille comme moi de François Truffaut 1972 : La Société du spectacle de Guy Debord 1972 : Themroc de Claude Faraldo 1972 : Les Petits Enfants d'Attila de Jean-Pierre Bastid 1972 : Continental Circus de Jérôme Laperrousaz 1973 : Gouma de Michel Papatakis 1973 : Day for Night de François Truffaut 1973 : Last Tango in Paris de Bernardo Bertolucci 1973 : La Folle de Toujane de René Vautier 1973 : Femmes au soleil de Liliane Dreyfus 1973 : L'Inde au féminin de François Chardeaux 1973 : L'Homme du fleuve de Jean-Pierre Prévost 1973 : La république est morte à Dien Bien Phu de Jérôme Kanapa 1973 : Le Mariage à la mode de Michel Mardore 1973 : Défense de savoir de Nadine Trintignant 1973 : Sweet Movie de Dušan Makavejev 1973 : Le Sourire vertical de Robert Lapoujade 1973 : Kashima Paradise de Yann Le Masson 1973 : Pour les Palestiniens, une Israélienne témoigne d'Edna Politi 1973 : Septembre chilien de Bruno Muel 1974 : Tendre Dracula de Pierre Grunstein 1974 : Le temps d'Emma (Emma Stern) de Liliane de Kermadec 1974 : Les Versaillais ont-ils pris Paris ? Niet ! de Jacques Prayer 1974 : La nuit du phoque de Jean-Jacques Birgé 1974 : Les Noces de porcelaine de Roger Coggio 1974 : La solitude du chanteur de fond de Chris Marker de Miroslav Sebestik 1974 : Si j'te cherche, j'me trouve de Roger Diamantis 1975 : L'Homme du fleuve de Jean-Pierre Prévost 1975 : Les Fleurs du miel de Claude Faraldo 1975 : Je t'aime moi non plus de Serge Gainsbourg 1975 : Je suis Pierre Rivière de Christine Lipinska 1975 : Le Voyage de noces de Nadine Trintignant 1975 : Ce gamin, là de Renaud Victor 1975 : Les bicots-nègres vos voisins de Med Hondo 1975 : Le Graphique de Boscop de Sotha et George Dumoulin 1975 : Interview de Benjamin Murmelstein (film Le Dernier des injustes de Claude Lanzmann, sorti en 2013) 1975 : Les Jours gris d'Iradj Azimi 1975 : L'Affiche rouge de Frank Cassenti 1975 : Guerre du peuple en Angola de Marcel Trillat-Bruno Muel-Antoine Bonfanti-Michel Desrois 1975 : Pierre Molinier - 7, rue des Tourets de Noël Simsolo 1975 : Gloria Mundi de Nikos Papatakis 1975 : Daguerréotypes d'Agnès Varda 1976 : Dernière sortie avant Roissy de Bernard Paul 1976 : Le Rouge de Chine de Jacques Richard 1976 : El Cine soy yo de Luis Armando Roche 1976 : Les Ambassadeurs de Nacer Ktari 1976 : Quatorze juillet(s) de Jacques Prayer 1976 : Mademoiselle K. de Robert Faurous Palacio 1976 : Le jardin des Hespérides de Jacques Robiolles 1976 : Le Grand Soir de Francis Reusser 1976 : L'adieu nu de Jean-Henri Meunier 1976 : Le Berceau de cristal de Philippe Garrel 1976 : Les Enfants du placard de Benoît Jacquot 1976 : La Communion solennelle de René Féret 1976 : La Spirale de Armand Mattelart, Valérie Mayoux et Jacqueline Meppiel 1976 : de Werner Schroeter 1977 : Promesse d'été d'Olivier Delilez 1977 : La machine de Paul Vecchiali 1977 : Sauf dimanches et fêtes de François Ode 1977 : Le vingt-troisième cessez-le-feu de Jean-François Dars, Anne Papillault 1977 : En l'autre bord de Jérôme Kanapa 1977 : Le Théâtre des matières de Jean Claude Biette 1977 : Le Fond de l'air est rouge de Chris Marker de Med Hondo 1979 : Extérieur, nuit de Jacques Bral 1979 : Lettre de Benjamin de Simone Boruchowicz 1979 : Simone Barbès ou la vertu de Marie-Claude Treilhou 1979 : Série indienne : Les Bauls - Calcutta - Bénarès – Konarak de Georges Luneau 1979 : Des quetsches pour l'hiver de Jean-Paul Menichetti 1979 : Hé ! Tu m'entends ? de Renaud Victor 1979 : Les Derviches-tourneurs de Pierre-Marie Goulet 1979 : Tout dépend des filles de Pierre Fabre 1979 : Tartan Jacket de Cécile Clairval 1979 : Yamar Fiesta de Luis Figueroa 1979 : Estraburgo en Chile de Philippe Avril (film producer) 1979 : Grenade d'Olivier Landau 1979 : Chants de l'aube de Noël Simsolo 1980 : Parano de Bernard Dubois 1980 : Haine de Dominique Goult 1980 : Cauchemar de Noël Simsolo 1980 : C'est la vie de Paul Vecchiali 1980 : Le Jardinier de Jean-Pierre Sentier 1980 : Les aventures de Holly et Wood 2e part. de Robert Pansard-Besson 1980 : Les anciens du Vercors de Bruno Muel 1980 : Karim de François Ode 1980 : Instinct de femme de Claude Othnin-Girard 1980 : Souvenir inoubliable de Philippe Nahoun 1980 : Oxalá d'António Pedro Vasconcelos 1980 : Comme la mer et ses vagues d'Edna Politi 1980 : Les Brus de Juan Luis Buñuel 1980 : Guns de Robert Kramer 1980 : Le regard des autres de Fernando Ezequiel Solanas 1980 : Plogoff des pierres contre des fusils de Nicole le Garrec 1980 : Court circuits de Patrick Grandperret 1981 : Pan-pan de Noël Simsolo 1981 : Les Îles d'Iradj Azimi 1981 : Corre Gitano de Tony Gatlif 1981 : Les Filles de Grenoble de Joël Le Moign' 1981 : Sans soleil de Chris Marker de Maryvon Le Brishoual-Bonfanti 1999 : San Bartuli - l'écho de La Castagniccia de Maryvon Le Brishoual-Bonfanti 2002 : Fragile comme le monde de Rita Azevedo

Awards In 1977 Bonfanti was nominated for the César Award for Best Sound for his work on the film Je t'aime moi non plus, directed by Serge Gainsbourg.

Publication