Chris Marker  (1921-2012) 

Chris Marker (French, b.1921–2012) was a photographer, filmmaker, and writer whose place of birth is disputed. Though one historical source says he was born in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, many who have searched for scarce information on him say he was really born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. His birth name was Christian François Bouche-Villeneuve, but he shortened it to Chris Marker, taking his new surname from the Magic Marker brand of pens. He was a notoriously private man who did not like to grant interviews or have his photo taken. Some believed he showed up to his movies in disguise so that nobody would spot him and try to snap a photograph. Marker preferred for his work to shine on its own, saying "My films are enough."

One of the few biographical facts known about Marker is that during World War II, he participated in the French Resistance. His first writing job was at Esprit, a French Marxist and neo-Catholic magazine. While working there, he began writing film essays, poems, political pieces, and short stories. Inspired by this work, he began to travel the world as a writer and photographer and served as editor of the book Petite Planete. During that time, he also published his first novel, Le Couer Net. He began to take an active interest in filmmaking and studied with a band of French filmmakers known as the French New Wave movement. He made Olympia 52, which was about the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. He also collaborated on Statuses Also Die, which won the 1954 Prix Jean Vigo award, despite the fact that it had been banned in France for being critical of French colonialism in Africa.

Marker later became interested in Japanese culture and created The Koumiko Mystery, which was about a young girl set amidst the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. He also filmed a documentary about legendary Japanese director Akira Kurosawa called AK and directed Sans Soleil, a short tourist film about Japan. He would go on to make several short films and documentaries, the last of which was 2007's Leila Attacks. Marker passed away in 2012.