French director and screenwriter renowned for films including Chocolat, Beau Travail, Trouble Every Day, 35 Shots of Rum, and Bastards. Born in Paris, Denis lived in a number of African countries until the age of 12. Having returned to France, she studied at the IDEHEC (Institut des Hautes Etudes Cinématographiques), where she met cinematographer Agnès Godard, who would later work on the majority of her films. She began her professional life in cinema as assistant to major directors like Robert Enrico, Wim Wenders, Costa Gavras, and Jacques Rivette. She later worked with Jim Jarmusch on his film Down by Law. In 1987, Denis wrote and directed her first film, Chocolat, a semi-autobiographical story of racial tension in 1950s colonial Africa, at the moment of independence. The film, which premiered at Cannes in 1988, was nominated for the César Awards and met with wide- spread critical acclaim in the US. In 1996, she was awarded the Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival for Nenette and Boni. Next came Beau Travail (1999), Trouble Every Day (2001), Vendredi soir (2002), 35 Shots of Rum (2008), White Material (2009), and Bastards (2013), presented in Un Certain Regard at Cannes in 2013. In 2017, Claire Denis returned to Cannes when Bright Sunshine In—featuring Juliette Binoche, Xavier Beau- vois, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Alex Descas, and Gérard Depardieu—screened as the opening film of Directors’ Fortnight. In 2018, High Life was selected at the Toronto Film Festival, starring Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, and Mia Goth. Selected to compete in the Berlin Film Festival, Both Sides of the Blade reunites Juliette Binoche and Vincent Lindon for the first time on screen. Stars at Noon, with Margaret Quelly and Joe Alwyn, is now in post-production after filming in Nicaragua. Denis has co-written most of her films with Jean-Pol Fargeau, but has also collaborated on scripts with Emmanuèle Bernheim (Vendredi Soir), Marie NDiaye (White Material), and Christine Angot (Bright Sunshine In, Both Sides of the Blade). Special Guests 2022 Luis Mandoki Jerry Schatzberg Maribel Verdú Laurent Cantet Frank Marshall Barry Jenkins Special Guests in Other Editions Kathleen Kennedy Willem Dafoe Jodie Foster James Ivory Ciro Guerra en Rosalie Varda J. M. Coetzee Luc Dardenne Robert Redford Alfonso Cuarón Damien Chazelle Paul Weitz Patrice Leconte Julie Bertuccelli Carol Littleton John Bailey Olivier Assayas Lynne Ramsay Al Gore Michel Hazanavicius Laurent Cantet Bob Rafelson Fred Kelemen Aaron Eckhart Casey Affleck Giada Colagrande Audrey Tautou Isabelle Huppert Tim Roth Rodrigo García Jerry Schatzberg Laurent Cantet Peter Greenaway Pawel Pawlikowski Pierre Rissient Amos Gitai Juliette Binoche Edward James Olmos Robert Rodriguez John Sayles Alejandro Jodorowsky Danny Trejo Bruno Dumont Quentin Tarantino Alfonso Cuarón Pablo Larraín José María Prado Whit Stillman Olivier Assayas Dieter Kosslick Geraldine Chaplin Seifollah Samadian Gregory Nava Sally Potter Abbas Kiarostami Damián Alcázar Demián Bichir Elena Anaya Thierry Frémaux Marisa Paredes Michel Gondry Volker Schlöndorff Luis Valdez Béla Tarr Lucrecia Martel Javier Bardem Edgar Ramírez Fernando Trueba Doris Dörrie Serge Bromberg Terry Gilliam Julio Alemán Kelly Reichardt Jennifer Lawrence Steven Soderbergh Michael Nyman Nicolas Philibert Todd Haynes Stephen Frears Héctor Babenco Gael García Bernal Carlos Reygadas Alejandro González Iñárritu Cristian Mungiu Bertrand Tavernier Arthur Penn Jean-Claude Carrière Guillermo del Toro Mike Hodges Diego Luna Tommy Lee Jones Valeria Sarmiento Raúl Ruiz Gus Van Sant Manoel De Oliveira Fernando Vallejo Julia Ormond Salma Hayek Werner Herzog Barbet Schroeder Barbet Schroeder Guillermo del Toro Alfonso Cuarón Casey Affleck Barbet Schroeder Guillermo del Toro Alfonso Cuarón Casey Affleck Barbet Schroeder Guillermo del Toro Alfonso Cuarón Casey Affleck
French director and screenwriter renowned for films including Chocolat, Beau Travail, Trouble Every Day, 35 Shots of Rum, and Bastards. Born in Paris, Denis lived in a number of African countries until the age of 12. Having returned to France, she studied at the IDEHEC (Institut des Hautes Etudes Cinématographiques), where she met cinematographer Agnès Godard, who would later work on the majority of her films. She began her professional life in cinema as assistant to major directors like Robert Enrico, Wim Wenders, Costa Gavras, and Jacques Rivette. She later worked with Jim Jarmusch on his film Down by Law. In 1987, Denis wrote and directed her first film, Chocolat, a semi-autobiographical story of racial tension in 1950s colonial Africa, at the moment of independence. The film, which premiered at Cannes in 1988, was nominated for the César Awards and met with wide- spread critical acclaim in the US. In 1996, she was awarded the Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival for Nenette and Boni. Next came Beau Travail (1999), Trouble Every Day (2001), Vendredi soir (2002), 35 Shots of Rum (2008), White Material (2009), and Bastards (2013), presented in Un Certain Regard at Cannes in 2013. In 2017, Claire Denis returned to Cannes when Bright Sunshine In—featuring Juliette Binoche, Xavier Beau- vois, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Alex Descas, and Gérard Depardieu—screened as the opening film of Directors’ Fortnight. In 2018, High Life was selected at the Toronto Film Festival, starring Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, and Mia Goth. Selected to compete in the Berlin Film Festival, Both Sides of the Blade reunites Juliette Binoche and Vincent Lindon for the first time on screen. Stars at Noon, with Margaret Quelly and Joe Alwyn, is now in post-production after filming in Nicaragua. Denis has co-written most of her films with Jean-Pol Fargeau, but has also collaborated on scripts with Emmanuèle Bernheim (Vendredi Soir), Marie NDiaye (White Material), and Christine Angot (Bright Sunshine In, Both Sides of the Blade).
