Robert Bober

Robert Bober
Robert Bober in 2010
Born	(1931-11-17)17 November 1931 Berlin,Weimar,Germany
Nationality	French
Occupation(s)	Film and theatre director, writer
Awards	Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres,Prix du Livre Inter

Robert Bober(born 17 November 1931) is a French film director, theater director and writer ofGerman-Jewishorigin. He was born on November 17, 1931, in Berlin. Working as a film-maker for television since 1967, he has made close to 120 documentary films. His first novel,Quoi de neuf sur la guerre?(What's new about war?) received thePrix du Livre Interin 1994.

Early life

Robert Bober was born in Berlin in 1931 to Jewish parents of Polish origin. In 1933 the family flees Nazism and takes refuge in France.Thanks to an early warning, the family managed to avoid theVelodrome d'Hiver roundupof July 1942, where many Jews were killed or deported. At 16, he began an apprenticeship as a tailor and made a living that way until the age of 22 when he turned topottery.During his summer vacations he spent time withchildren who had lost their familiesduring theSecond World War.

Career

In the 1950s, Bober metFrançois Truffautand became his assistant for the films400 Blows(1959),Shoot the Piano Player(1960), andJules and Jim(1962).In 1967 he directed his first documentary for TV. During the 1960s and 1970s his documentaries primarily explored the consequences of the Holocaust.

In 1979 he collaborated withGeorges Perecon adocumentary filmcalledEllis Island Revisited,also published in book form.

Bober has published 4 novels with the French publisher P.O.L.:Quoi de neuf sur la guerre(1993),Berg et Beck(1999),Laissées-pour-compte(2005) andOn ne peut plus dormir tranquille quand on a une fois ouvert les yeux(translated asWide Awake) (2010). Of these novels, onlyWide Awakehas been translated into English. It was published byThe New Press.

Sources

• Short biography