André Bazin (1918-1958) was a French film critic and film theorist. Bazin started writing about film in 1943. In 1951, he co-founded the renowned film magazine Cahiers du Cinéma, along with Jacques Doniol-Valcroze and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca. He is known for his statement that realism is the most important function of cinema. Bazin’s writings also influenced the development of the auteur theory. He edited Cahiers until his death, and a four-volume collection of his writings was published posthumously in the sixties and seventies, covering the years from 1958 to 1962 and titled Qu'est-ce que le cinéma?. His complete works were recently published by Éditions Macula.