---
name: "Michel Gondry"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/michel-gondry"
fi1m_id: "michel-gondry"
imdb_id: "nm0327273"
tmdb_id: 201
wikidata_id: "Q126098"
roles: ["Director","Writer","Producer"]
born: "8 May 1963"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 78
average_as: "director"
average_over: 4
updated: "2026-09-21T20:59:45.584220+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Michel Gondry

## Identity

Michel Gondry

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/michel-gondry
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** michel-gondry
- **IMDb ID:** nm0327273
- **TMDB ID:** 201
- **Wikidata ID:** Q126098
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Gondry, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q126098, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0327273/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/201

Director and writer. Born 8 May 1963 in Versailles, France.

## Details

- **Work:** Director, Writer, Producer
- **Born:** 8 May 1963, Versailles, France
- **Active:** 2001–2008
- **Frequently works with:** [Georges Bermann](https://film.one/person/georges-bermann.md), [Jonathan Glazer](https://film.one/person/jonathan-glazer.md), [Yasiin Bey](https://film.one/person/yasiin-bey.md), Stéphane Sednaoui
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 78, as director, over 4 titles
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 78 to 74 across 4 titles
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Comedy 3, Drama 2, Documentary 1, Music 1, Romance 1, Science Fiction 1
- **Screen time:** 5 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $115m across 3 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Gondry, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q126098, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0327273/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/201

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*Flight of the Conchords*](https://film.one/tv/flight-of-the-conchords.md) (84)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Michel Gondry

> Michel Gondry makes dreams and memories out of practical effects and handmade objects. We value the tenderness behind his inventions, especially in *Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind*, but sometimes wish he would leave the next trick unperformed.

The train meeting in *Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind* (2004) gives us two people to watch before it asks us to untangle their memories. Ellen Kuras’s cinematography makes the encounter intimate, and Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet give us a reason to keep watching. Gondry lets the attraction register before the visual complications take over. The film is inventive, funny and worth following even when he makes it harder than it needs to be.

Music videos for Björk preceded his first feature, *Human Nature* (2001), written by Charlie Kaufman. Their next collaboration was *Eternal Sunshine*, which gives Gondry’s visual ingenuity a painful relationship to explore. He wrote *The Science of Sleep* (2006), using handmade effects to build its dream world, and *Be Kind Rewind* (2008), about remaking films by DIY methods. Those subjects suit a director drawn to practical effects and stop-motion. His move into studio filmmaking with *The Green Hornet* (2011) was a less comfortable fit for that approach.

In *Eternal Sunshine*, Kaufman’s screenplay asks what memory erasure would feel like rather than labouring over the equipment. Carrey and Winslet make the couple convincing enough for the answer to matter. We found the prospect of Joel forgetting Clementine painful because the actors make their shared life feel worth keeping. Dan Leigh’s production design makes their surroundings comfortably ordinary, so the memory-erasure imagery has something recognisable to disturb.

Valdís Óskarsdóttir’s editing keeps their feelings clear even when the order of events is difficult to place. Jon Brion’s score supplies tenderness without making every hurt seem momentous. Yet another visual disruption sometimes arrives before the previous one has had time to register. We would gladly trade those flourishes for more time with Carrey and Winslet, whose relationship needs room to develop without another interruption. Start with *Eternal Sunshine* and give it an evening without distractions.

## Biography

Michel Gondry is a French film director and screenwriter. He was born on 8 May 1963 in Versailles, France. He began his career as a drummer and music video director for the band Oui Oui, later directing videos for artists including Björk and numerous television commercials.

Gondry made his feature debut with *Human Nature* (2001). He is best known for directing and co-writing the story of *Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind* (2004) with Charlie Kaufman and Pierre Bismuth; the film won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. His other directorial credits include *The Science of Sleep* (2006), *Be Kind Rewind* (2008), *The Green Hornet* (2011) and *Mood Indigo* (2013).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, encyclopedia.com.*

## On Fi1m (4)

- *Be Kind Rewind* (2008), Fi1m 65, Producer, Director, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/be-kind-rewind.md)
- *Flight of the Conchords* (2007), Fi1m 84, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/flight-of-the-conchords.md)
- *Dave Chappelle's Block Party* (2005), Fi1m 75, as Self (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/dave-chappelles-block-party.md)
- *Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind* (2004), Fi1m 88, Story, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind.md)

## Complete filmography (55)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *At Work* (2026), as Customer in the sock, Sock Customer
- *Maya, Give Me Another Title* (2025), Director, Screenplay
- *Maya, Give Me a Title* (2024), Director, Screenplay
- *The Book of Solutions* (2023), Director, Writer
- *A Short Visit to My College* (2020), Director
- *Boris Vian Opened My Eyes and Broke My Back* (2020), Cinematography, Writer, Director
- *Night of the Scorpio* (2018), Creator
- *Our Infinity* (2018), Director
- *Kidding* (2018), series, Executive Producer, Director
- *Détour* (2017), Director, Screenplay
- *Microbe and Gasoline* (2015), Director, Writer
- *Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy?* (2013), Writer, Director, Animation, Producer
- *Mood Indigo* (2013), Screenplay, Director
- *Haircut Mouse* (2012), Director
- *The We and the I* (2012), Screenplay, Director
- *Taxi Driver* (2011), Director
- *Jean Vigo* (2011), Director
- *The Green Hornet* (2011), Director
- *The Thorn in the Heart* (2009), Director, Writer
- *How to Blow Up a Helicopter (Ayako's Story)* (2009), Director
- *My New New York Diary* (2008), Director
- *Tokyo!* (2008), Director, Writer
- *Passaic Mosaic* (2008), Executive Producer
- *Radiohead: The Best Of* (2008), Director
- *Be Kind Rewind* (2008), Screenplay, Director, Producer — Fi1m 65, [page](https://film.one/film/be-kind-rewind.md)
- *Flight of the Conchords* (2007), series, Director — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/flight-of-the-conchords.md)
- *The Science of Sleep – Film B* (2007), Director
- *Gondry Solves Rubik’s Cube With His Nose* (2007), Director
- *The Science of Sleep* (2006), Director, Producer, Screenplay
- *Dave Chappelle's Block Party* (2005), Producer, Director — Fi1m 75, [page](https://film.one/film/dave-chappelles-block-party.md)
- *I've Been Twelve Forever: The Work of Director Michel Gondry* (2004), Director, Writer
- *A Look Inside Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind* (2004), Actor
- *A Conversation with Jim Carrey and Director Michel Gondry* (2004), Actor
- *Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind* (2004), Director, Story — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind.md)
- *The Work of Director Michel Gondry* (2003), Director of Photography, Music, Director
- *Three Dead People* (2003), Writer, Director
- *Tiny* (2003), Animation, Director, Writer
- *Drumb and Drumber* (2003), Director
- *The Hardest Button to Button* (2003), Director, Producer
- *Björk: Greatest Hits - Volumen 1993-2003* (2002), Director
- *Massive Attack: Eleven Promos* (2001), Director
- *Human Nature* (2001), Director
- *One Day...* (2001), as The Man · Director, Writer
- *Intégrale clips* (2000), Director
- *D.A.F.T.* (1999), Director
- *Clip Cult* (1999), Director
- *Björk: Volumen* (1998), Director
- *The Letter* (1998), Director, Writer
- *Eurotrash* (1993), series, Actor
- *My Brother's 24th Birthday* (1988), Director
- *L’Expédition Fatale* (1987), Director, Screenplay, Music
- *Un joyeux Noël* (1986), as Le prisonnier · Animation, Director, Writer
- *The Little Fears*, Director, Screenplay
- *Golden*, Director
- *Signals*, Actor

## Gallery

- ![Michel Gondry](https://film.one/media/person/98352/gallery-1f7e2bc592d9.jpg) Michel Gondry — Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Michel_Gondry_Deauville_2012.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Michel Gondry et Mos Def à l'avant-première de Soyez sympas, rembobinez diffusée à l'UGC Ciné Cité Les Halles, à Paris. (2008)](https://film.one/media/person/98352/gallery-a17a7a79b676.jpg) Michel Gondry et Mos Def à l'avant-première de Soyez sympas, rembobinez diffusée à l'UGC Ciné Cité Les Halles, à Paris. (2008) — Thierry Caro, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Gondry-Mos-Def-Be-Kind.JPG/1280px-Gondry-Mos-Def-Be-Kind.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Michel Gondry et Mos Def à l'avant-première de Soyez sympas, rembobinez diffusée à l'UGC Ciné Cité Les Halles, à Paris. (2008)](https://film.one/media/person/98352/gallery-6fd065feaede.jpg) Michel Gondry et Mos Def à l'avant-première de Soyez sympas, rembobinez diffusée à l'UGC Ciné Cité Les Halles, à Paris. (2008) — Thierry Caro, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c4/Gondry-Mos-Def-Be-Kind_%28cropped%29.JPG/1280px-Gondry-Mos-Def-Be-Kind_%28cropped%29.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![警察の取り調べ部屋である。ミシェル・ゴンドリーの世界一周のアートショーセットで Police Interrogation Room. A set at "Around Michel Gondry's World" art show](https://film.one/media/person/98352/gallery-7299b0fe98c8.jpg) 警察の取り調べ部屋である。ミシェル・ゴンドリーの世界一周のアートショーセットで Police Interrogation Room. A set at "Around Michel Gondry's World" art show — nesnad, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Japanese_police_interrogation_room_-_movie_set_-_October_2014.jpg/1280px-Japanese_police_interrogation_room_-_movie_set_-_October_2014.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Michel Gondry](https://film.one/media/person/98352/gallery-5b4b839e8c75.jpg) Michel Gondry — Image via TMDB
- ![Pierre-Ange Le Pogam et Michel Gondry à l'avant-première de Soyez sympas, rembobinez diffusée à l'UGC Ciné Cité Les Halles, à Paris. (2008)](https://film.one/media/person/98352/gallery-95f256841900.jpg) Pierre-Ange Le Pogam et Michel Gondry à l'avant-première de Soyez sympas, rembobinez diffusée à l'UGC Ciné Cité Les Halles, à Paris. (2008) — Thierry Caro, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/Le-Pogam-Gondry-Be-Kind.JPG/1280px-Le-Pogam-Gondry-Be-Kind.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 1 won

- 2005: Best Writing, Original Screenplay (won), for *Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind*

### Other awards — 2 won, 1 nominated

- Knight of the National Order of Merit 2011: Knight of the National Order of Merit (won)
- Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay 2005: Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay (won), for *Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind*
- European Film Award for Best Non-European Film 2004: European Film Award for Best Non-European Film (nominated), for *Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/michel-gondry