Tavernier was born in Lyon , the son of Geneviève ( née Dumond ) and René Tavernier , a publicist and writer , several years president of the French PEN club . He says that his father 's publishing of a wartime resistance journal and aid to anti-Nazi intellectuals shaped his moral outlook as an artist . According to Tavernier , his father believed that words were " as important and as lethal as bullets " . Tavernier wanted to become a filmmaker since the age of 13 or 14 years . He has said that his cinematic influences include filmmakers John Ford , William Wellman , Jean Renoir , Jean Vigo and Jacques Becker . Tavernier was influenced by the 1968 general strike in France . He associated with the OCI between 1973 and 1975 , and was particularly struck by the writing of Leon Trotsky . The first film director with whom he worked was Jean-Pierre Melville . Later , his first film ( '' The Clockmaker '' , 1974 ) won the Prix Louis Delluc and the Silver Bear – Special Jury Prize award at the 24th Berlin International Film Festival
24th Berlin International Film Festival
24th Berlin International Film Festival
Bertrand Tavernier