Denys Arcand | |
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 Arcand at the2007 Toronto International Film Festival | |
| Born | Georges-Henri Denys Arcand (1941-06-25)June 25, 1941 (age 84) Deschambault,Quebec, Canada |
| Alma mater | Université de Montréal |
| Occupation(s) | Film director,screenwriter,film producer |
| Years active | 1962–present |
| Spouse | Denise Robert |
| Relatives |
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| Awards | César Award for Best Director 2003The Barbarian Invasions César Award for Best Film 2003The Barbarian Invasions César Award for Best Original Screenplay or Adaptation 2003The Barbarian Invasions Genie Award for Best Direction 1986The Decline of the American Empire 1989Jesus of Montreal 2003The Barbarian Invasions Genie Award for Best Original Screenplay 1986The Decline of the American Empire 1989Jesus of Montreal 2003The Barbarian Invasions |
Georges-Henri Denys ArcandCC GOQ RCA (French:[dəniaʁkɑ̃]; born June 25, 1941) is a Canadian filmmaker. During his four decades career, he became one of the most internationally-recognized directors fromQuebec,[1] earning widespread acclaim and numerous accolades for his "intensely personal, challenging, and intellectual films."[2]
His filmThe Barbarian Invasions won theAcademy Award forBest Foreign Language Film in 2004.[3] His films have also been nominated three further times, including two nominations in the same category forThe Decline of the American Empire in 1986[4] andJesus of Montreal in 1989,[5] becoming the onlyFrench-Canadian director in history whose films have received this number of nominations and, subsequently, to have a film win the award. ForThe Barbarian Invasions, he received an Academy Award nomination forBest Original Screenplay, losing toSofia Coppola forLost in Translation.[6]
Arcand has also won several awards from theCannes Film Festival, including theBest Screenplay Award, theJury Prize, and many other prestigious awards worldwide. He won threeCésar Awards in 2004 forThe Barbarian Invasions:Best Director,Best Original Screenplay or Adaptation andBest Film, the only Canadian director to have done so. He is a member of theRoyal Canadian Academy of Arts,[7] and a Commander of the FrenchOrdre des Arts et des Lettres.
Arcand was born inDeschambault,Quebec, Canada. He grew up in a devoutlyRoman Catholic home in a village about 40 km southwest ofQuebec City. He attendedJesuit school for nine years. Entering his teen years, the family moved to Montreal and although he dreamed about being a professional tennis player, while studying for a master's degree in history at theUniversité de Montréal he became involved in film making, which gave him a new sense of direction. In this era he was involved in several student film projects in collaboration with classmatesDenis Héroux andStéphane Venne, includingÀ l'est d'Eaton,Alone or with Others (Seul ou avec d'autres) andOver My Head (Jusqu'au cou).
In 1963, he joined theNational Film Board of Canada where he produced several award-winning documentaries in his nativeFrench language. A social activist, he made a feature-length documentary in 1970 titledCotton Mill, Treadmill (On est au coton) that showed the exploitation of textile workers. The film caused an uproar that resulted in it not being distributed publicly for several years. Arcand received such publicity that it gave his fledgling career a great boost. He also worked on some television series, notablyDuplessis, a historical work he wrote (but did not direct) about PremierMaurice Duplessis.
During the early part of the 1970s, Arcand produced a number of feature films that received critical acclaim. Arcand returned to directing documentaries and did no work for television. In 1982, his documentary,Comfort and Indifference (Le confort et l'indifférence) won thePrix Luc-Perreault from the Quebec Film Critics' Association.[8] In 1986 he wrote and directed what was until then the highest-grossing film in Quebec (and Canadian) history,The Decline of the American Empire (Le Déclin de l'empire américain).
At the CanadianGenie Awards, it captured best film, best director, and best writer of an original screenplay. It also won the "International Critics Prize" at theCannes Film Festival and became the first Canadian feature film nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Three years later Arcand repeated this award-garnering performance with his widely acclaimed 1989 filmJesus of Montreal (Jésus de Montréal) winning the same three Genie awards, plus theJury Prize at Cannes. The movie earned him a second Academy Award nomination, becoming the first Canadian director to accomplish this achievement.
Arcand produced and directed his first English language film in 1993, titledLove and Human Remains, and did so again in 2000, with the filmStardom, which opened theToronto International Film Festival. He then spent two years writing the script for what many claim is his finest piece of cinematic writing to date,The Barbarian Invasions (Les invasions barbares). Released in 2003, the film won Arcand theBest Screenplay Award at the Cannes Film Festival, was nominated for aGolden Globe Award as Best Foreign Language Film and won theAcademy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In addition, Denys Arcand was nominated for anAcademy Award for Writing Original Screenplay.The Barbarian Invasions won France's 2004César Award for Best Film,Best Director, andBest Original Screenplay or Adaptation.[9]
Arcand's filmDays of Darkness (L'Âge des ténèbres) was chosen to close the2007 Cannes Film Festival.[10] The press opening was subdued and the subsequent reviews were mixed.[11] Following this, he took a seven-year hiatus from feature film directing; he returned in 2014 with the filmLe règne de la beauté.
In 1988, he was made an Officer of theOrder of Canada and was promoted to Companion in 2005.[12] In 1990 the Government ofFrance awarded him theLegion of Honour. He finally earned from his home province one of its highest distinctions, the title of Knight of theNational Order of Quebec, in 1990.[13]
In 1995, Arcand received aGovernor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement.[14] In February 2004, the government of France named Denys Arcand a Commander ofL'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, that nation's highest cultural honour. In 2004, Arcand was also inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.[15]
He is a member of theRoyal Canadian Academy of Arts.[7]
In 2023, he was named the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from theDirectors Guild of Canada.[16]
Arcand is alapsed Catholic.[17] Married a second time, neither Arcand norDenise Robert, his producer/wife, has had children. He was 55 years old when they adopted an orphaned baby boy fromChina named Carter.[18] His brotherBernard Arcand (1945–2009) was a professor ofanthropology, and his youngest brotherGabriel Arcand (b. 1949) is a noted Canadian actor. His great-uncle,Adrien Arcand (1899-1967), was a notorious far-right politician.
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