Alekan, Henri

▪ 2002

      French cinematographer (b. Feb. 10, 1909, Paris, France—d. June 15, 2001, Auxerre, France), was one of the most accomplished filmmakers of the 20th century. After working for a time as a puppeteer, Alekan broke into the film industry as an assistant camera operator in 1927. His career was interrupted by the German occupation of France during World War II. After the war Alekan became a director of photography. He worked with film director René Clément to create La Bataille du rail (1946) and Les Maudits (1947) and with poet Jean Cocteau to create the film La Belle et la bête (1946). In 1953, under director William Wyler, Alekan shot his first American film, Roman Holiday, for which he received an Academy Award nomination. He remained in demand throughout the rest of the 1950s and early '60s; however, interest in his work waned thereafter until German film director Wim Wenders drafted Alekan to handle the photography for The State of Things (1982) and Wings of Desire (1987). Alekan later shot a number of films for Israeli director Amos Gitai, most notably Golem, the Spirit of Exile (1992).

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