Who popularized the auteur theory in the cinema?

The auteur theory was popularized by French film critics of the Cahiers du Cinéma magazine in the 1950s, particularly André Bazin and François Truffaut. Truffaut's influential essay, "A Certain Tendency in French Cinema," argued that directors are the primary authors of their films, shaping their vision and style. This idea significantly impacted film criticism and theory, leading to a greater emphasis on the director's creative role in filmmaking. The theory became a foundational concept in discussions of cinema as an art form.