Born August 31 1925 in the Puy de Dome, Maurice Pialat was, as a very young man, interested in painting and for several years attended classes at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. His first career was that of a painter. Out of necessity however, he took all kinds of work and tried to be an actor before becoming Michel Vitold's assistant. (He also acted in one of Claude Chabrol's films).

In 1958, he brought a camera and began to shoot short films. With the support of François Truffaut and Claude Berri he was able to release his first feature film in 1969. In 1972, he published his novel 'Nous ne Vieillerons pas Ensemble'. Thanks to his collaboration with producer Daniel Toscan du Plantier, Pialat produced some of his finest films, including LOULOU, TO OUR LOVES, POLICE, UNDER SATAN'S SUN (for which he won the Golden Palm, Cannes '87) and VAN GOGH.

Maurice Pialat died in Paris 11 January 2003.