Bertrand Tavernier was a French director, screenwriter, producer and writer, born on April 25, 1941 in Lyon, and died on March 25, 2021in Sainte-Maxime (Var).

Son of the writer and resistance fighter from Lyon, René Tavernier, he was first an assistant director, press officer (notably for Stanley Kubrick) and critic before moving on to directing with The Watchmaker of Saint-Paul, his first critical success, which led to a long collaboration with the actor Philippe Noiret (Let the Party Begin..., The Judge and the Assassin, Coup de torchon, Life and Nothing But, The Daughter of d'Artagnan).

Eclectic, he tackled several cinematographic genres, from the dramatic comedy (A Sunday in the Country, Daddy Nostalgia) to the war film (Captain Conan) through the historical film (Pass, The Princess of Montpensier) or the thriller (L.627, The Bait). Several of his films have won awards, in France and abroad (including Autour de minuit which won an Oscar and was nominated for a Golden Globe). He was president of the Lumière Institute from 1982, the year the Institute was created, until his death.

He is the father of director and actor Nils Tavernier and novelist Tiffany Tavernier.