version of an experimental play. This film was edited by Jean Eustache; Téchiné has an uncredited walk-on appearance in Eustache's film La Maman et la putain (1972). Téchiné was also assistant director to Jacques Rivette (his editor at Cahiers du Cinéma) on L'amour fou (1969). Téchiné is noted for his elegant and emotionally charged films that often delve into the complexities of human condition and emotions. One of Téchiné's trademarks is the examination of human relations in a sensitive but unsentimental way. Influenced by Roland Barthes, Bertolt Brecht, Ingmar Bergman, William Faulkner and the cinematic French New Wave, Téchiné's style lies in his exploration of sexuality and national identity, as he challenges expectations in his depictions of gay relations, the North African dimensions of contemporary French culture, or the center-periphery relationship between Paris and his native Southwest. Fear of flying prevents him from attending most film openings or festivals more than a train ride from his Paris apartment overlooking the Luxembourg Garden. "I never know how each film will end," Téchiné has said. "When I'm filming, I shoot each scene as if it were a short film. It's only when I edit that I worry about the narrative. My objective is to tell a story, but that's the final thing I do." Film career Paulina s'en va (1969) André Téchiné made his debut as director with Paulina s'en va (Paulina is Leaving) (1969), in which the title character drifts aimlessly, struggling to find a way out of her disenchantment and find her calling in life. Initially conceived as a short, the film was shot in two periods, over one week in 1967 and two weeks in 1969. Shown at that year's Venice Film Festival, it disconcerted audiences and was not released until 1975. In the meantime, Téchiné provided screenplays for other directors, including one for Liliane de Kermadec's Aloïse. Souvenirs d'en France (1974) After working in television and theater, Téchiné first came to prominence with his second film, Souvenirs d'en France (French Provincial) (1974), a mix of black comedy, romantic drama and nostalgia with a distinct tone. The film was inspired by Orson Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons and filmed in Téchiné's native village. It is a highly compressed history of a small-town family from early in the century through the Resistance and on to May 1968. Téchiné explored the relationship between the grand scope of life and more personal histories.