Denys Colomb de Daunant

Albin Théodore Denys Colomb de Daunant 21 November 1922 22 March 2006 was a French writer poet photographer and filmmaker best known for his work on the multiawardwinning 1953 short film White Mane An aristocrat and modern dandy he was an iconic figure of Frances rural Camargue region The son of Auguste Colomb de Daunant and L Carenou Denys Colomb de Daunant was born into a Protestant family in the Gard department of southern France The Colomb de Daunants were major landowners and ran a number of traditional mas and factories During the Second World War he had to flee France for having insulted a German officer He attempted to rejoin the Free French Forces in Morocco but was captured while crossing the Pyrenees and imprisoned Returning to the Camargue in 1947 at the age of 25 he purchased the Cacharel mas in SaintesMariesdelaMer where he was to live for more than sixty years transforming it in the process into a rustic horseriding centre with no running water electricity or telephone line Cacharel became one of the areas bestknown manades for both horses and Camargue bulls Though this remained his base he travelled a lot and became friends with many of the prominent cultural figures of his time including Picasso Chagall Ernest Hemingway and Salvador Dalí He was close to Frédéric Mistral and contributed to the latters Occitan language magazine Aïoli In 1948 he married Monique Bonis the granddaughter of Colomb de Daunants spiritual forebear iconic Camargue pioneer Folco de BaroncelliJavon He was the manager of the bullfighting ring at SaintesMariedelaMer and sometimes took part in bullfights himself With Albert Lamorisse and James Agee Colomb de Daunant was one of the screenwriters of White Mane a short film released in 1952 that focused on the wild horses of the Camargue and much of it was filmed at the mas de Cacharel With Lamorisse he also coauthored the novel of the same name that appeared in 1953 He spent much of his life fighting to protect the cultural heritage of the Camargue campaigning for example against the encroachment of electricity pylons He avoided using electricity himself and was known in France for perpetuating the image first embodied by Folco de Baroncelli of the Camargue as an area of tough men and wild animals at times indeed he even dressed in traditional clothing from Baroncellis time He died on 22 March 2006 at the age of 85 survived by two children Florian and Sylvie Colomb de Daunant Source Article Denys Colomb de Daunant from Wikipedia in English licensed under CCBYSA 30