Born in Valmondois in the Val-d'Oise département of France, Antoine Duhamel was the son of French writer Georges Duhamel and actress Blanche Albane. He studied music at the Sorbonne. He wrote the score for his first film in 1960, going on to work with many of Europe's most outstanding film directors. In 2002 he was awarded the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival for his music for the Bertrand Tavernier directed film, Laissez-passer. Antoine Duhamel scored several of Jean-Luc Godard's films, including Pierrot le Fou and Week End. He died at the age of 89 in September 2014.