Introduce Yourself : François Truffaut changed Philippe Troyon's life as a filmmaker by Melanie Hochet

First of all, Philippe Troyon is one of my closest friend, and a talented French filmmaker. He told me his encounter with the famous François Truffaut. Between Philippe Troyon and François Truffaut, it was more a friendship than a professional relation which lasted 14 years. Indeed, Philippe met him when he was 14 and followed him until Truffaut’s death. They met each other at Philippe Troyon’s boarding school named Saint Martin de France, in Paris, while Philippe was in charge of the film club, with his friends Philippe Le Guay [ http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippe_Le_Guay ] (a famous French director) and Patrick Tosani [ http://creative.arte.tv/fr/magazine/patrick-tosani-ou-la-justesse-du-regard (a famous photograph). Moreover, Truffaut met there his favourite actor, Jean Pierre Léaud. Bernard Revon, François Truffaut’s scriptwriter[ http://worldscinema.org/2012/04/serge-leroy-claude-de-givrey-bernard-rev... ]took Philippe under his wing. For Philippe, it was a special time, because at 14, he attended the shooting of “Les 2 anglaises et le continent” (Two English Girls). This friendship and collaboration lasted 25 years until Bernard Revon’s death. Philippe became “ the little one of Truffaut’s group”. Then, Philippe started the French film school, L’Institut des Hautes Etudes Cinématographiques (IDHEC), and became first assistant director. Truffaut asked him to follow his work, at home and even at his production company called “Les films du Carosse”. Philippe learnt a lot at Truffaut’s side and with his precious help was able to make with Bernard Revon (Truffaut’s screenwriter) the feature films “ les Turlupins”, “Donnez-moi 8 jours de votre vie”…Unfortunately, Truffaut’s illness prevented Philippe from becoming his second assistant director. At Truffaut’s death, Philippe was like an orphan, and he had to find another family, and then he began to work with Stellio Lorenzi (A French screenwriter and director) as a first assistant director. It is obvious that this relationship between François Truffaut and Philippe Troyon had a strong impact on Philippe’s career. Philippe was lucky to attend Truffaut’s shootings and to lunch with him, because he could learn the job of filmmaker. Even after Truffaut’s death, Philippe kept working with Bernard Revon, Claude Sautet and Claude de Givray, the Truffaut’s group. He was their first assistant. Today, Philippe is shooting a documentary fiction about the research at the Marie Curie Institut, in Paris, and he needs a financial help, so if you want to participate….contact me as his RP manager. In June, Philippe Troyon will start the shooting of another documentary about disabled people. Meanwhile, he is writing a script for a feature film which should take place in the UK…. To be continued…. For further information http://www.imaginem.fr/