Philippe Garrel (b. April 6, 1948) began his film career early, directing and writing his first films while still a teenager. Since then he has built a reputation as a maverick auteur whose, often autobiographical, stories are made up of moments of day to day intimacy or alienation, in which characters reflect on their lives and experiences. His cinema is one of contemplation, rather than narrative, and yet, at the same time, contains highly cinematic visual imagery.