For each day in the month of February, the African American Steering Committee will be highlighting Local 700’s African American members, both past and present, and their accomplishments. We look forward to showing the contributions and influences African Americans have had on the industry.
Did you know?
Marie-Josèphe Yoyotte (1929-2017) was the editor of François Truffaut’s “The 400 Blows,” one of the most famous films of the French New Wave era of cinema. She was born and raised in France; her father was from Martinique and her mother was French. Yoyette collaborated with heavyweights of the French New Wave, including Jean Cocteau (“The Testament of Orpheus,” 1960), Jean-Pierre Melville (“Léon Morin,” “Priest,” 1961) and Eric Rohmer (“The Sign of the Lion,” 1962).
In 1983, Ms. Yoyotte teamed up with writer-director Euzhan Palcy for her first feature film, “Sugar Cane Alley” (La Rue Cases-Nègres), a coming-of-age story set under the French Colonial rule of Martinique in 1931. She was excited to work with Palcy, who is also from Martinique, on a project that touched on her Caribbean roots.
Throughout her 54 years editing, Ms. Yoyotte became known for her sense of tone and speed of cuts. She won three César awards for Best Editing during her career, including “Winged Migration,” which was also nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 2003 Oscars.
“All films are particular to the editing. A film is, first of all, a dream. The final construction is done during editing. All the people who want to testify touch me because that is it. The job of an Editor, assisting those who want to testify. There are no rules to editing. There is a taste for storytelling, a taste for collaboration with someone’s dreams.”
Interview de Marie-Josèphe Yoyotte – 2004 – Short video interview (in French) at Arte.tv
