Trivia

Worked as an assistant director for Claude Chabrol and François Truffaut before he started making films himself.

Studied photographic techniques and subsequently joined an expedition to the Sahara as a cameraman. From then on worked on documentaries in the region, under the auspices of the Army Film Service in Algeria. Returned to France as assistant director to Truffaut, Chabrol and others, before becoming a director in his own right. An early exponent of the New Wave, his first three films are regarded as his best work.

He directed 5 different actors in César-nominated performances: Nicole Garcia, Stéphane Freiss, Daniel Auteuil, Marie Gillain and Vincent Perez. Garcia and Freiss won Césars for their performances in one of de Broca movies.

In his ancestors, there are generals and other officers. His grandfather Alexis(1868-1948) was an illustrator and painter.

Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume Two, 1945-1985". Pages 158-162. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1988.

Retrospective at the 10th Oldenburg International Film Festival in 2003.