The son of journalists, Alexandre Astruc grew up on the ideas of Jean-Paul Sartre, was one of the youthful literati surrounding the philosopher in the St Germaine-des-Pres cafes, espousing a new French culture that demanded new representations in fiction and film. After publishing his first novel "Les Vacances" in 1945 and beginning his career as a journalist and film critic, he carved out his niche in the small library of worthwhile film theory . His short article "The Birth of a New Avant-Garde: La Camera-Stylo" in L'Ecrain Francais argued that film should "write" in its own language as
