Breaking to Create

The French New Wave proved:

• The auteur theory raised directors from technicians to artists
• Constraints become creative advantages when embraced rather than lamented
• Jump cuts, handheld cameras, and improvisation create authentic energy
• Cinema needs vision and courage, not studios or budgets
• Every independent film movement since descends from this revolution

The deepest lesson is that the rules of cinema are not rules at all. They are habits — and habits can be broken by anyone with a camera and something to say.