'' Le Beau Serge '' and '' The 400 Blows '' were successful , and at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival , Truffaut and Chabrol used their fame to promote '' Paris Belongs to Us '' and help Rivette finish the film . According to Truffaut , who obtained funds for its completion , " The release of '' Paris nous appartient '' is a score for every member of the '' Cahiers du cinéma '' team " . He helped Rivette premiere it at the Studio des Ursulines on 16 December 1961 , followed by a run at the Agriculteurs cinema in Paris . Although reviews of the film were mixed , it was praised by '' L'Express '' . Pierre Marcabru of '' Combat '' said , " The connection between image and sound has never been so striking , evocative or necessary " , and Jeander of '' Libération '' praised the film 's depiction of " the moral and intellectual confusion of these young people who are repressed by their epoch for more than their elders " . Rivette , who later said " It 's the film of a sixteen-year-old child , but maybe its naïveté is where its strength lies " , won the Sutherland Trophy for best first film from the British Film Institute
1959 Cannes Film Festival
1959 Cannes Film Festival
Jacques Rivette