Maurice Pialat (21st August, 1925 – 11 January 2003) originally intended to become  a painter but from the late 1950s onwards chose to work in film and television. His films, which include L’Enfance Nue (Naked Childhood, 1969), Loulou (1980), the Palme d’Or winning Sous le soleil de Satan (Under Satan’s Sun, 1987), and Van Gogh (1991), are celebrated for their naturalistic style, raw and powerful performances, and unflinching focus on aspects of family life and French society not normally held up to the spotlight. A confrontational director known for being “difficult”, Pialat was an uncompromising artist who valued the portrayal of immediate experience above all else.