François Chalais

Acting

François Chalais (December 15, 1919 – May 1, 1996) was a prominent French reporter, journalist, writer and film historian. The François Chalais Prize at the annual Cannes Film Festival is named after him.

Born in Strasbourg in 1919, Chalais' real name was François-Charles Bauer. His journalism career began under the German occupation of France during World War II, as a writer for several collaborationist publications. Nevertheless, he was awarded the Médaille de la Résistance after the liberation and continued a lengthy and distinguished career, most notably with France Soir from 1976 to…