Jean Vigo
Jean Vigo (1905–1934) was a French director whose tiny but extraordinary body of work has had an outsized influence on world cinema. The son of an anarchist militant, he lived a chronically ill childhood and died of tuberculosis at twenty-nine. He completed only four films, but their fusion of poetic-realist lyricism, surrealist invention, and political feeling has made them touchstones for generations of filmmakers. His acclaimed films include À Propos de Nice, Taris, Zéro de Conduite, and L'Atalante.