This blog is an online research project about François Boyer, a French IDHEC graduate, screenplay and literary writer who was active between World War II and the 1980ies.
I discovered Boyer’s work doing research for my PhD in Comparative Literature. The first of his works that I engaged with was the novel Jeux interdits or Forbidden Games, published in France in 1947 and in the USA in 1950. This novel is the basis for famous director René Clément’s internationally successful film classic of the same title.
Since then, my interest in Boyer’s person, life and work has grown continuously. I find his life and writing/publication context fascinating, and his texts are lively, cheeky, engaging and very unique.
Also, my interest was sparked by the curious fact that there is hardly any information about him available anywhere, neither in books nor online. Which is surprising when you look at the long list of films and TV series he wrote screenplays and/or dialogue for (a total of over 30), some of which became huge international successes.
This list also shows he knew and regularly worked with some of the most influential film writers and directors of his time. Famous film critics such as André Bazin have dropped a comment here or there about Boyer’s works as well. One could say that overall, Boyer got more attention by film critics than literary critics, even if not much.
However, the general utter lack of information and research is what sparked the idea for this blog. On it, I continuously collect and examine aspects of Boyer’s life and work in relation to his temporal and cultural context. I present what information I could find about Boyer and his work during a research trip to Paris in 2018. I discuss aspects I find of interest for people researching (French) films, literary texts, (screen-)plays and famous persons of the post-WWII period.
So far, most of the newer commentary and research I have found about Boyer has emerged in English-speaking areas. Hence the choice of English as the language for this blog, even though I am a native German and most of the sources I discuss were originally published in French. The translations of French quotes, marked with quotation marks in individual blog posts, are entirely my own. If you would like to use them for your own purpose, or if you find a translation mistake, please do not hesitate to email me.
I would like it if some of what I write about could make a contribution to an emerging Boyer scholarship. My hope is that my research will be useful and accessible for people everywhere, also for those who do not speak French. Maybe it will even help spark more interesting projects around the globe.
Of course, this online Boyer research project should not be considered exhaustive. My interest is very selectively focussed on aspects that I find most noteworthy. However, if you find a mistake, please email me at info[at]ulrikeseifert.com – your comment will be appreciated!