Claude Autant-Lara

Claude Autant-Lara (French: [klod otɑ̃ laʁa]; 5 August 1901 – 5 February 2000) was a French film director, screenwriter, set designer and costume designer who worked in films for over 50 years. He made films characterised by bourgeois realism, anti-clericalism and sexual frankness, often from literary sources. His career was frequently marked by controversy. Even though he was considered left-wing during most of his life, in his late 80s he was elected to the European Parliament as a member for the far-right National Front: he stepped down two months later after making antisemitic statements.