François Roland Truffaut (; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and
film critic, as well as one of the founders of the
French New Wave. In a film career lasting over a quarter of a century, he remains an icon of the
French film industry, having worked on over 25 films. Truffaut's film
The 400 Blows came to be a defining film of the French New Wave movement. He also directed such classics as
Shoot the Piano Player (1960),
Jules et Jim (1961),
The Wild Child (1970),
Two English Girls (1971),
Day for Night (1973) and
The Woman Next Door (1981).