Before music 'new wave' there was cinema 'nouvelle vague'.

A number of its principals came from the Cahiers du Cinema magazine.

Cahiers du Cinema take Oscars 2011 by storm on February 27 with 10 paperback nominations.

We get cameras rolling with 10 directors profiles from Scorcese to Almodovar, Hitchcock to Eastwood published by Phaidon Press.

Valerie Buffet, Editorial Director, Cahiers du cinema gives her take on the series:

“The Masters of Cinema series is meant to appeal to the widest audience possible. The series should serve as the foundation of any film library and is perfect for experienced cinephiles and amateur film buffs alike. For someone just being introduced to these directors, each volume provides a lively, accessible, completely up-to-date and incredibly beautiful visual and written account of their careers. But for the cinephile the books also provide a more in-depth perspective through the sidebars, which consist of seminal critiques of films or a director’s work; interviews with directors or collaborators; analyses of film sequences; or a focus on a specific technique, theme, actor, or collaborator. The series will be the cornerstone of Cahiers du cinéma’s expanding book program and will include additional volumes on new directors every season.”

The last illustration is not the Croisette, Who cares when Penelope Cruz is there.

And the Oscar goes to...

(* Illustrations shared by permission of Phaidon Press are Slim Pickens in Dr. Strangelove (1964) for Stanley Kubrick and Lluís Homar and Penélope Cruz in Broken Embraces (2009) for Almodovar)