Bruno Dumont (; born 14 March 1958) is a French

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...

and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

. To date, he has directed ten feature films, all of which border somewhere between realistic drama and the avant-garde. His films have won several awards at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...

. Two of Dumont's films have won the

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

award: both ''

L'Humanité ''L'Humanité'' (; ), is a French daily newspaper. It was previously an organ of the French Communist Party, and maintains links to the party. Its slogan is "In an ideal world, ''L'Humanité'' would not exist." History and profile Pre-World Wa ...

'' (1999)(1999) and '' Flandres'' (2006). Dumont's '' Hadewijch'' won the 2009 Prize of the International Critics (FIPRESCI Prize) for Special Presentation at the Toronto Film Festival.

Life and career

Dumont has a background of Greek and German (Western) philosophy, and of corporate video. His early films show the ugliness of extreme

violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened ...

and provocative

sexual behavior Human sexual activity, human sexual practice or human sexual behaviour is the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. People engage in a variety of sexual acts, ranging from activities done alone (e.g., masturbation) t ...

, and are usually classified as

art film An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily f ...

s. Later films bring novel twists to other movie genres like comedy or musicals. Dumont has himself likened his films to

visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile art ...

, and he typically uses long takes, close-ups of people's bodies, and story lines involving extreme emotions. Dumont does not write traditional scripts for his films. Instead, he writes complete novels which are then the basis for his filmmaking. He says that some of his favorite filmmakers are

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...

Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film director, screenwriter, producer and playwright. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time, his films are known as "profoun ...

Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...

Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such ...

, and

Abbas Kiarostami Abbas Kiarostami ( fa, عباس کیارستمی ; 22 June 1940 – 4 July 2016) was an Iranian film director, screenwriter, poet, photographer, and film producer. An active filmmaker from 1970, Kiarostami had been involved in the production of ...

. He is frequently considered an artistic heir to

Robert Bresson Robert Bresson (; 25 September 1901 – 18 December 1999) was a French film director. Known for his ascetic approach, Bresson contributed notably to the art of cinema; his non-professional actors, ellipses, and sparse use of scoring have l ...

. His often polarizing work has been connected to a recent French cinéma du corps/body of cinema, encompassing contemporary films by

Claire Denis Claire Denis (; born 21 April 1946) is a French film director and screenwriter. Her feature film ''Beau Travail'' (1999) has been called one of the greatest films of the 1990s, as well as of all time. Other acclaimed works include '' Trouble Ev ...

Marina de Van Marina de Van (; born 8 February 1971) is a French film director, screenwriter and actress. Her film, '' Don't Look Back'', was screened out of competition at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. Her brother is , he appeared with her in the 1998 f ...

Gaspar Noé Gaspar Noé (, ; born 27 December 1963) is an Argentine filmmaker based in Paris, France. He is the son of Argentine painter, writer, and intellectual Luis Felipe Noé. In the early 1990s, Noé along with his wife Lucile Hadžihalilović were ...

, Diane Bertrand, and

François Ozon François Ozon (; born 15 November 1967) is a French film director and screenwriter. Ozon is considered one of the most important modern French filmmakers. His films are characterized by aesthetic beauty, sharp satirical humor and a free-wheeli ...

, among others. According to

Tim Palmer Timothy J. Palmer (born 4 October 1962, in North Shields) is an English record producer, audio engineer, guitarist and songwriter of rock and alternative music. He mixed Pearl Jam's debut album ''Ten'' (1991) and tracks on U2's album ''All Tha ...

, this trajectory includes a focus on states of corporeality in and of themselves, independent of narrative exposition or character psychology. In a more pejorative vein, James Quandt has also talked of some of this group of filmmakers, as the so-called

New French Extremity New French Extremity (New French Extremism or, informally, New French Extreme) is a term coined by ''Artforum'' critic James Quandt for a collection of transgressive films by French directors at the turn of the 21st century. Also available othe ...

.Quandt, James, "Flesh & Blood: Sex and violence in recent French cinema", ''ArtForum'', February 200

Access date: 10 July 2008. His 2011 film ''

Hors Satan ''Hors Satan'' (''Outside Satan'') is a 2011 French drama film written and directed by Bruno Dumont. It was filmed under the production title ''L'Empire'', which means "The Empire". It premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2011 Canne ...

'' premiered in the

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...

section at the

2011 Cannes Film Festival The 64th Cannes Film Festival was held from 11 to 22 May 2011. American actor Robert De Niro served as the president of the jury for the main competition and French filmmaker Michel Gondry headed the jury for the short film competition. South ...

. His 2013 film ''

Camille Claudel 1915 ''Camille Claudel 1915'' is a 2013 French biographical film written and directed by Bruno Dumont. The film premiered in competition at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival. Plot At the end of her career the sculptor Camille Claudel seem ...

'' premiered in competition at the

63rd Berlin International Film Festival The 63rd annual Berlin International Film Festival took place in Berlin, Germany between 7 and 17 February 2013. Chinese film director Wong Kar-wai was announced as the President of the Jury and his film '' The Grandmaster'' was the opening fil ...

. Dumont is an atheist.

Filmography

Feature films

* ''

La vie de Jésus ''La vie de Jésus'' (English: ''The Life of Jesus'') is the 1997 debut feature film by director Bruno Dumont. It was the winner of the BFI Sutherland Trophy, the Prix Jean Vigo and European Discovery of the Year at the European Film Awards, as we ...

/ The Life of Jesus'' (1997) * '' Humanité / Humanity'' (1999) * ''

Twentynine Palms Twentynine Palms (also known as 29 Palms) is a city in San Bernardino County, California. Twentynine Palms serves as one of the entry points to Joshua Tree National Park. History Twentynine Palms was named for the palm trees found there in ...

'' (2003) * '' Flandres / Flanders'' (2006) * '' Hadewijch'' (2009) * ''

'' (2011) * ''

'' (2013) * '' P'tit Quinquin / L'il Quinquin'' (2014) * ''

Slack Bay ''Slack Bay'' (french: Ma Loute) is a 2016 French comedy film directed by Bruno Dumont. It was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. Set on the north-west coast of France in the summer of 1910, with black hum ...

/ Ma Loute'' (2016) * '' Jeannette: The Childhood of Joan of Arc'' (2017) * '' Coincoin and the Extra-Humans'' / ''Coincoin et les z'inhumains'' (2018) * ''

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronat ...

'' / ''Jeanne'' (2019) * ''

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

'' (2021)

Short films

* ''

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

'' (1993) * '' P'tit Quinquin / Li'l Quinquin'' (1993) * '' Marie et Freddy / Marie and Freddy'' (1994)

Interviews and articles

Kinok 14 September 2003

Film de Culte (French)

Cineuropa 23 May 2006

Fluctuat 1 March 2012 (French)

DVDrama 24 September 2006 (French)

Film de Culte September 2006 (French)

Photos of Bruno Dumont from The San Sebastian Film Festival, October 2009

References

External links

Official site
*
Flandres official site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dumont, Bruno 1958 births Living people European Film Awards winners (people) French film directors French atheists