Essay on the term ‘national cinema’ in relation to the French New Wave or Italian Neo-Realism
The French New Wave branch of cinema defined a generation, a nation and an entire film industry with its originality and intense vision that would be admired and drawn on for inspiration until this very day. François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard amongst others, were rebuilding the very basis of filmmaking, and were driven as part of the French New Wave movement with a real desire to create a new cinema that could speak of more than the ‘safe and standard film industry’ could to its viewers. A cinema that, according to Peter Graham in his book, The New Wave, was a ‘revolution in production in the attitude of the public and in particular the producers.’
