Pierre Schoendoerffer
Filmmaker; Born: May 5, 1928; Died: March 14, 2012. PIERRE Schoendoerffer, who has died aged 83, was an Oscarwinning French filmmaker who chronicled the pain of war on screen and on the page. His work influenced a generation of directors and helped inform films such as Apocalypse Now
Born in central France, Schoen- doerffer served as a cameraman in the French army in the 1950s and volunteered to be parachuted into the besieged fortress of Dien Bien Phu, where the decisive battle of the French war in Indochina was fought.
When the stronghold fell to the Vietnamese guerrilla army in May 1954, he was captured and spent four months in a POW camp before being repatriated.
Schoendoerffer then became a who had managed to dance alongside menin the 19th century, women were generally banned from competingatmanygames.however, all that changed after a poster for the Nairn Highland Games failed to state the dancing competition was “males only”.
When Miss Jessiman noticed the omission she entered the contest, prompting the convening of a special committee to decide whether she could take part. Having forced the issue, she got her way, becoming the first woman to compete at Nairn.
She also became the first female to compete wearing the Scottish Official Board of Highland Danc- war correspondent in Algeria, Malaysia, Morocco, Yemen and Laos and gained fame as a director for the gritty realism of his 1965 film, The 317th Platoon, which traced of a group of French and Laotian s ol di e rs r e t r e a t i ng through the jungles ahead of the final rebel offensive in 1954.
Critics described the black and white film as a masterpiece among war movies in general, and among the best Vietnam War films ever made.
He also made his mark as a screenwriter for his 1975 film Drummer Crab, based on his book reflected. “I have done a lot of daft things, but at the end of the day I have thoroughly enjoyed my life. How many people can say that?”
He retired in 1996, relocating to Kirkcaldy from Tyne and Wear. In December 2009 the Professional Darts Corporation staged the Jocky Wilson Cup in Glasgow, an event that gave rise to the World Cup of Darts Pairs. Following his retirement, Wilson – who married Argentinian-born Malvina and had three children, a daughter, Anne Marie, and two sons, John and William – withdrew from public life.
The documentary maker, Julian Schwanitz, shot a 17-minute documentary, Kirkcaldy Man, on his fruitless search for Wilson. Last ing (SOBHD) outfit as it is today, and went on to take part in the World Highland Dance championships at the Cowal Gathering.
She competed there for a decade, clinching the world champion title in 1961 at the age of 40. She also performed at the Palace of Holyrood House that year and was presented to the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.
Named champion of champions in 1962, having beaten 15 other world-class dancers, she also took the open British title three times during her career.
Her wedding that year, to Huntly stonemason Fred Mckay, was arranged for a Monday to let her compete in weekend games and the couple spent their honeymoon on the Highland games circuit.
She particularly enjoyed the west coast events, with Morar her favourite, but she remained barred from performing at the games often regarded as the most prestigious, the Braemar Gathering, attended by the Royal Family.
It was a source of disappointment and irritation that the event remained out of bounds to her, particularly when she heard the men at the preceding Lonach Gathering arranging to see each other at Braemar. However she was heartened years later when her grand- Thursday, Wilson’s 62nd birthday, Schwanitz won a Scottish BAFTA New Talent award for it. He was planning to send Wilson the award and a copy of the film, which he had never seen.
“Now I’ve woken up to the news that he has gone,” Schwanitz said. “It is very sad.” He takes the view that Wilson immortalised himself years ago by disappearing from the public gaze; to his fans, he effectively “died” years ago, but his achievements ensure he will not be forgotten. The film has prompted enthusiastic comments from fans who see the complex Scot as a genuine hero. daughter competed there, wearing her grandmother’s kilt.
Miss Jessiman who, in her dancing heyday had numerous strathspeys and a jig composed for her, toured Canada and the United States as a judge and lecturer, was also an examiner for the UK Alliance of Teachers of Dance and its longest-serving member, as well as an SOBHD judge.
She set up her dancing school in Huntly in 1951 and after her marriage it was based in a studio next door to their house. The property, which she named Morar, was built by her husband who had to construct the studio before he could start work on the family home.
Her talent as a tough but genial teacher saw many of her students become champions and although she should have retired two decades ago, she was still popping in to the studio up until about six years ago.
The school is now run by her daughter and enjoyed its diamond jubilee last year, celebrated by its trail-blazing founder.
Widowed in 2002, she is survived by her daughter Patricia-ann and grandchildren Gordon, Laura, Fraser and Andrew, who are all dancers. of the same name, and 1982’s A Captain’s Honour.
In 1991 he returned to Vietnam to film Dien Bien Phu, a big-budget docu-drama about the 55-day battle that ended France’s colonial rule in Indochina and marked the start of the US involvement there.
Schoendoerffer won an Academy Award in 1968 for his documentary The Anderson Platoon, also filmed in Vietnam.
In 1958 Schoendoerffer married Patricia Chauvel, with whom he had three children, Frédéric, Ludovic and Amélie.