René Clair (November 11,1898 – March 15, 1981) was a French filmmaker.

He was born in Paris and grew up in the Halles quarter. He attended the Montaigne and Louis-le-Grand lycées. During World War I, he served as an ambulance driver. After the war, he started a career as a journalist under the pseudonym René Desprès. He also made his debut as an actor and became the assistant of Jacques de Baroncelli and Henri Diamant-Berger.

In 1923, he produced his first film, Paris qui dort, which was followed by a quick succession of notable films.

During World War II, he went to Hollywood and was stripped of his French citizenship by the Vichy government.

He was given an honorary doctorate by the University of Cambridge and received the Grand Prix du Cinéma Français in 1953. In 1960, he was elected to the Académie Française. He came to personify French film, and the prize for film awarded by the Académie Française bears his name.

His most notable film is probably À Nous la Liberté because of the controversy involving Modern Times that ensued.

See also

• Charlie Chaplin
• Entr'acte