Suzanne Schiffman


Suzanne Schiffman was a screenwriter and director for numerous motion pictures. She often worked with François Truffaut. The 'script girl' Joelle, played by Nathalie Baye in Truffaut's Day for Night was based on Schiffman. It accurately portrayed her close collaboration with Truffaut and other directors.
Schiffman's Jewish mother was detained by the Gestapo during the war, but an order of nuns hid Schiffman and her sibling. She studied art history at the Sorbonne after the war. Schiffman worked closely with Jean-Luc Godard and Jacques Rivette in addition to Truffaut, latterly on the scripts of his films. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Day for Night and won a César Award for writing The Last Metro with Truffaut.

Death

Suzanne Schiffman died of cancer in 2001, a year after her husband's death. She is the mother of two sons, one of whom is cinematographer Guillaume Schiffman.

Filmography