Armand Gatti facts for kids

Armand Gatti (French: [gati]; January 26, 1924 – April 6, 2017) was a very talented French person. He was a playwright (someone who writes plays), a poet, a journalist, a screenwriter, and a filmmaker. He was also a brave fighter in the French Resistance during World War II.

His first film, Enclosure, was shown at the 2nd Moscow International Film Festival. He won a special award there for being the Best Director. A couple of years later, his film El Otro Cristóbal was shown at the famous 1963 Cannes Film Festival. In 2013, he received a very important award called the Grand prix du théâtre de l'Académie française for his work in theater.

About Armand Gatti

Armand Gatti was one of the most famous theater writers and directors of the 20th century. He was part of a group of creative filmmakers in Paris, sometimes called the "Left Bank group." This group included other well-known artists like Alain Resnais and Chris Marker.

Even though his films are not widely available in some countries, he was a very important figure in cinema. He appeared in some films by his friends, like Resnais' Toute la mémoire du monde (1956). He also wrote a book called China (1956) for Chris Marker and traveled with Marker while he was making the film Letter from Siberia (1957). This trip later inspired Gatti's own book, Siberia — Zero + Infinity.

His Early Life and World War II

Armand Gatti was born in 1924 in a poor area in Monaco. His father, Auguste Rainier, was an Italian man who had to leave his home because of his political beliefs and to escape a harsh ruler named Benito Mussolini. His mother, Letizia Lusona, worked as a maid.

During World War II, Gatti joined a small group of French fighters called the Maquis. These groups resisted the enemy forces. He was captured and sent to a special camp in Hamburg, Germany. There, he was made to work in a diving bell deep in the Baltic Sea.

However, Gatti managed to escape! After escaping, he joined a British Special Air Service (SAS) team, which is a group of highly trained soldiers.

After the War

After the war ended, Armand Gatti worked as a journalist for many years and won awards for his writing. Later, he traveled with Chris Marker and started publishing his own plays. He also directed his first film, Enclosure (L'Enclos), in 1961.

L'Enclos was shown at the Cannes Film Festival. Even though it wasn't competing for an award, famous directors like François Truffaut, Alain Resnais, and Jean Cocteau praised it.

Armand Gatti received several important awards from France. In 1999, he was given the Legion of Honour, which is a very high French award. In 2004, he received the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. And in 2013, he won the Grand prix du théâtre from the Académie française for his amazing work in theater.

He passed away on April 6, 2017.

Theatrical Works

Here are some of the plays Armand Gatti wrote:

• 1957 Le Poisson noir (He won the Fénéon Prize for this play)
• 1966 Chant public devant deux chaises électriques

Filmography

Here are some of the films Armand Gatti was involved in:

• 1960 Moranbong, une aventure coréenne (He was the writer for this film)
• 1961 Enclosure
• 1963 El Otro Cristóbal
• 1968 Das imaginäre Leben des Straßenkehrers Auguste G. (He was the writer for this film)
• 1970 Der Übergang über den Ebro
• 1983 Nous étions tous des noms d'arbres

See Also

In Spanish: Armand Gatti para niños