Jean Vautrin facts for kids

Jean Vautrin (born May 17, 1933 – died June 16, 2015), whose real name was Jean Herman, was a talented French writer and filmmaker. He was known for writing many books and also for directing and writing movies.

Life and Career

Jean Vautrin loved literature and studied it in school. He became very good at filmmaking and even studied at a special film school called Id'HEC. He also spent time in India, where he worked as an assistant director for a famous filmmaker named Roberto Rossellini. When he returned to France, he directed several of his own movies.

He became very well-known in 1989. This was when he won a big award called the Prix Goncourt for his novel Un grand pas vers le bon Dieu. This is one of France's most important literary prizes!

One of his novels, Le Cri du Peuple, was even turned into a graphic novel. A graphic novel is like a long comic book story. It was adapted by another artist named Jacques Tardi.

Films and TV Shows

Jean Vautrin worked on many films and television shows. He helped make movies in different ways.

Working as an Assistant Director

As an assistant director, he helped the main director with many tasks. He worked on films like India, Terre Mère and Le Jour le plus long.

Directing Films

Jean Vautrin directed many short films and feature films. A short film is usually less than 40 minutes long. Some of the films he directed include:

• 1967 Le Dimanche de la vie
• 1968 Adieu l'ami
• 1969 Jeff

He also directed episodes for TV series like Graf Yoster and Les Grands Détectives.

Writing Screenplays

Jean Vautrin also wrote screenplays, which are the scripts for movies and TV shows. He wrote for many of his own films and for films directed by others. Some of his notable screenplays include:

• 1979 Flic ou Voyou
• 1981 Garde à vue
• 1983 Le Marginal
• 2000 Under Suspicion

Acting Roles

Sometimes, Jean Vautrin even appeared in films as an actor. He had roles in movies like Le Marginal (1983) and Billy Ze Kick (1985).

Books and Novels

Jean Vautrin was a very busy writer. He wrote many different kinds of books, including novels and novellas.

Popular Novels

He wrote many novels throughout his career. Some of his well-known novels include:

• Billy-Ze-Kick (1974), which was later made into a movie.
• Canicule (1982), also adapted into a film.
• Un grand pas vers le bon Dieu (1989), which won the famous Prix Goncourt.
• Le Cri du peuple (1998), which became a popular graphic novel.

Series of Novels

Jean Vautrin also wrote a series of four novels called "Four French Soldiers." These books tell a long story over several volumes:

• Adieu la vie, adieu l’amour (2004)
• La Femme au gant rouge (2004)
• La grande zigouille (2009)
• Les années Faribole (2012)

Shorter Stories (Novellas)

He also wrote novellas, which are shorter than a novel but longer than a short story. He won the Prix Goncourt de la Nouvelle (an award for novellas) in 1986 for Baby-boom.

Collaborations

Jean Vautrin also worked with another writer, Dan Franck, on a series of adventure novels. These books were called Les Aventures de Boro, reporter photographe. They followed the adventures of a reporter named Boro. One of these books, La Dame de Berlin, was even made into a TV series.