Denis Villeneuve
Denis Villeneuve OC CQ RCA (French: [dəni vilnœv]; born October 3, 1967) is a Canadian filmmaker. He has received seven Canadian Screen Awards as well as nominations for three Academy Awards, five BAFTA Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. Villeneuve's films have grossed over $1.8 billion worldwide.
Denis Villeneuve
October 3, 1967
- Film director
- film producer
- screenwriter
1990–present
3, including Salomé
Martin Villeneuve (brother)
Villeneuve began his career directing the Canadian dramas August 32nd on Earth (1998), Maelström (2000), and Polytechnique (2009). He rose to prominence with Incendies (2010) which earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. He expanded to direct the acclaimed English-language thrillers Prisoners (2013), Enemy (2013), and Sicario (2015), as well as the science fiction films Arrival (2016) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017). For Arrival, he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director.
He has since directed the film adaptations Dune (2021) and Dune: Part Two (2024), based on Frank Herbert's novel of the same name. Both films were critically and commercially successful, with the former earning him Academy Award nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture.
Early life and education[edit]
Villeneuve was born on October 3, 1967, in the village of Gentilly in Bécancour, Quebec, to Nicole Demers, a homemaker, and Jean Villeneuve, a notary. He is the eldest of four siblings. His younger brother, Martin, also became a filmmaker.[1][2]
Villeneuve attended the Séminaire Saint-Joseph de Trois-Rivières[1] and later studied science at the Cégep de Trois-Rivières.[2] He studied cinema at the Université du Québec à Montréal.[3]
Influences and style[edit]
Starting with Polytechnique, Villeneuve became known for a visual style based on long takes, precise mise-en-scène, steady camerawork, periods of wordless silence to emphasize moody atmosphere, and shallow focus, high-contrast cinematography. Amongst a core theme of Villeneuve's films are characters who struggle with their identities in worlds of isolation, such as the case with Sicario (Kate Macer), Enemy (Adam Bell), Arrival (Louise Banks), Blade Runner 2049 (Officer K), and the Dune movies (Paul Atreides).
Villeneuve has cited Steven Spielberg, Stanley Kubrick, Alfred Hitchcock, the Coen brothers, Paul Thomas Anderson, Ridley Scott, Sam Mendes, Jean-Luc Godard, Francois Truffaut, Ingmar Bergman, and Christopher Nolan as his main cinematic influences.[52][53][54][55][56]
Personal life[edit]
Villeneuve is married to Tanya Lapointe, a journalist and filmmaker,[57] and he has three children from a previous relationship.[58] His daughter Salomé Villeneuve is also a filmmaker, whose debut short film III premiered at the 2022 Venice Film Festival.[59] Previously, Villeneuve had a relationship with Macha Grenon.[60] His younger brother, Martin Villeneuve, is also a filmmaker.[61]