Jean Gruault

Jean Gruault — Biography

Jean Gruault was a screenwriter close to the founding filmmakers of the French New Wave, and also a playwright, producer and occasional actor. He wrote 25 films between 1960 and 1995. He is best remembered for François Truffaut's Jules et Jim, The Wild Child and The Story of Adèle H., and he also worked with Jean-Luc Godard and Jacques Rivette.

Gruault was born in Fontenay-sous-Bois, east of Paris in what is now the Val-de-Marne. His screenwriting career began with Paris Belongs to Us in 1960, followed by Vanina Vanini (1961) and Jules et Jim (1962). In later decades he wrote films such as The Nun (1966), Two English Girls (1971) and The Story of Adèle H. (1975); Mon oncle d'Amérique followed in 1980, and Via degli specchi (1982) and La Vie est un roman number among his other scripts.

His best-known recognition came for Mon oncle d'Amérique, whose screenplay earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. He also won the David di Donatello for best foreign screenplay. Alongside writing he acted in films including Le Beau Serge and Vanina Vanini and appeared in the documentary François Truffaut: Stolen Portraits. He died in Paris on 8 June 2015.