Biography
Denis Villeneuve is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. Born on 3 October 1967 in Gentilly, Québec, he studied cinema at the Université du Québec à Montréal and began his career making short films before winning a Radio-Canada youth film competition in 1991.
Villeneuve first gained recognition in Canada for French-language features including August 32nd on Earth (1998), Maelström (2000), Polytechnique (2009) and Incendies (2010). The latter earned an Academy Award nomination for Best International Feature Film. He moved into English-language cinema with the thrillers Prisoners (2013), Enemy (2013) and Sicario (2015).
His science-fiction films Arrival (2016), Blade Runner 2049 (2017), Dune (2021) and Dune: Part Two (2024) brought wider international acclaim. He has received seven Canadian Screen Awards and nominations for four Academy Awards, five BAFTA Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.
