Maurice Failevic

Maurice Failevic (14 August 1933 – 27 December 2016) was a French film director. A communist, he directed 50+ films about class struggles, depicting the lives of members of the French working class, from peasants during the French Revolution to the unemployed, factory workers and banlieue dwellers in the 20th century. He directed films for cinema and television as well as documentaries.

He was the recipient of several awards for his work, including the Prix de la critique from the International Critics' Week twice, the Fipa d'or and the Fipa d'argent, and the Grand Prix from the Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques. On his death, the French Culture Minister, Audrey Azoulay, said he "stood for an activist approach to cinema, based on his commitment to political and social engagement".

Early life Maurice Failevic was born on 14 August 1933 in Paris, France. His father was an immigrant from Lithuania who worked as a miner and later a storekeeper.

Failevic graduated from the Institut des hautes études cinématographiques. He became a communist activist in 1953, and he attended the 4th World Festival of Youth and Students in Bucharest, Romania. In 1975, he directed Gouverneurs de la rosée, based on a novel about sugarcane planters by Haitian author Jacques Roumain. Director Jean Chérasse considered 1788 to be Failevic's best film. In 1987, he directed Bonne chance monsieur Pic, a film pitting an employed man against a successful businessman. A television film about the Algerian War, it was based on the 1989 novel La Paix des braves by Jean-Claude Carrière. Failevic hired the workers as extras, thus increasing its verisimilitude.

Death and legacy Failevic died on 27 December 2016 in Paris, at the age of 83.

The French Culture and Communication Minister Audrey Azoulay said, "Maurice Failevic stood for an activist approach to cinema, based on his commitment to political and social engagement." The General Confederation of Labour (CGT) also paid tribute to him on their website by saying he "combined political engagement with artistry, especially in his later years".

Filmography Les Femmes aussi (1967), a television series Naissance d’un spectacle, un événement ordinaire (1968) De la belle ouvrage (1971), television film Journal d’un prêtre ouvrier (1976)