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To be a film-maker, you are almost forced to be surrounded by contradictions... You must have talents of so many different kinds - talents that are contradictory.
Francois Truffaut
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Filmmaking requires a blend of various and often opposing skills and perspectives.

Francois Truffaut highlights the duality and complexity involved in filmmaking, suggesting that a successful filmmaker must balance a variety of contradictory talents and approaches. This encompasses creative vision, technical skill, and emotional depth, all of which may seem at odds but are essential for creating impactful cinema.

Themes

FilmmakingContradictionsArtCreativityTalent

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can inspire aspiring filmmakers at a seminar about the diverse skills needed in the industry.

More from Francois Truffaut

There's no such thing as an anti-war film.
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But the cinephile is … a neurotic! (That’s not a pejorative term.) The Bronte sisters were neurotic, and it’s because they were neurotic that they read all those books and became writers. The famous French advertising slogan that says, “When you love life, you go to the movies,” it’s false! It’s exactly the opposite: when you don’t love life, or when life doesn’t give you satisfaction, you go to the movies.
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I love the way she projects two facets: a visible persona and a subterranean one. She keeps her thoughts to herself; she seems to suggest that her secret, inner life is at least as significant as the appearance she gives.
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I want my audience to be constantly captivated, bewitched, so that it leaves the theatre dazed, stunned to be back on the pavement.
Francois TruffautRead
The film of tomorrow will not be directed by civil servants of the camera, but by artists for whom shooting a film constitutes a wonderful and thrilling adventure.
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I have always preferred the reflection of the life to life itself.
Francois TruffautRead

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