Martin Villeneuve

Martin Villeneuve
Born Martin Villeneuve
(1978-03-13) 13 March 1978
Trois-Rivières, Canada
Occupation Screenwriter, film producer, film director, actor, art director, writer
Years active 2001–present
Website www.bulbapp.com/MartinVilleneuve

Martin Villeneuve (French: [martin vilnœv]; born March 13, 1978) is a Montreal-based screenwriter, producer, director, actor, art director and TED speaker.

Biography

TED2013 speaker Martin Villeneuve[1] studied film at Concordia University and graphic design at Université du Québec à Montréal. In 2002, he received a grant from the commercial creativity agency Sid Lee[2] for the quality of his portfolio. In the years that followed, he worked as an artistic director with this agency and helped create award-winning advertising campaigns for Cirque du Soleil. He found the name for three shows: Zumanity, KÀ and Corteo, as well as for Guy Laliberté’s ONE DROP Foundation. When the agency (formerly known as Diesel) changed its name in 2006, Villeneuve had the idea for the anagram Sid Lee. He also directed numerous TV commercials for Cirque du Soleil, in addition to music videos and short films.[3] As an author, Martin Villeneuve has created the comic book La voix du tonnerre (Les 400 coups, 2004), as well as the two graphic novels Mars et Avril (Sid Lee & la Pastèque, 2002-2006), which were all released to critical acclaim and multiple awards. In 2012, the movie adaptation of Mars et Avril which Villeneuve wrote, directed and produced, was brought to the big screen with success.[4][5] This science fiction film, starring Jacques Languirand, Caroline Dhavernas, Paul Ahmarani and Robert Lepage, premiered at the 47th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Czech Republic. Mars et Avril was released in Canada in Fall 2012 and continues its tour of international festivals.[6][7] Martin Villeneuve was nominated for best adapted screenplay at the 2013 Canadian Screen Awards for Mars et Avril, and he also won an Imaging the Future Award at the Neuchâtel International Fantasy Film Festival in Switzerland.[3]

In 2014, Martin Villeneuve made his acting debut with Imelda, impersonating his own grandmother, for which he won the Union des Artistes’ Best Actor Award at the 12th Prends ça court ! Gala. The film also won Quebec’s Best Short Film Award at Festival Images en vues, as well as a Special Mention from the jury in the category Best Canadian Short Film at the FICFA. He is currently writing the script for a feature film based on the character to be produced by GO Films in Montreal.[8] He is also working with European comic book masters Benoît Sokal and François Schuiten on an animated fantasy feature film, Aquarica,[9][10] on a sci-fi movie with Pressman Film, tentatively titled The Other World,[11][12] and on From Beyond, a sci-fi/horror feature film project written by Ray Gower and inspired by the H.P. Lovecraft short story, to be produced by Darius Films & Shoreline Entertainment.[13][14]

In September 2016, it was announced that Martin Villeneuve was signed to write and direct a live-action movie based on the Quebec cult comic book series Red Ketchup. The film will be co-written by the authors of the series, Réal Godbout and Pierre Fournier.[15]

TED Talk

On February 27, 2013, Martin Villeneuve gave a TED Talk about Mars et Avril at TED2013,[16][17] thereby becoming the first (and so far the only) speaker from Quebec invited to this prestigious event that took place in Long Beach, California.[18] Prior to his talk, the opening sequence of the film was shown, as well as a three minutes overview of the steps leading from the green screen to the final images.[19][20] Martin Villeneuve's talk, “How I made an impossible film,” was released on TED.com on June 7, 2013, and a month later was added to TED's movie magic list, featuring famed directors such as James Cameron and J.J. Abrams.[21] Since then, Mars et Avril is being referred to as the “Impossible Film”, has been sold to the U.S. and is now available on GaiamTV.[22][23] The film is also available on Amazon and iTunes in the U.S., Canada, Francophone Europe and the UK, among other digital platforms.[24]

Selected bibliography

Graphic novels

Selected filmography

Awards and mentions

References

  1. ↑ “Martin Villeneuve: How I made an impossible film”, TED, June 7, 2013
  2. ↑ Sid Lee website
  3. 1 2 3 Martin Villeneuve on IMDb
  4. ↑ An unforgettable ride through a futuristic Montreal, review from The Gazette, October 12, 2012
  5. ↑ Mars and April // Mars & Avril, review from Variety, July 16, 2012
  6. ↑ Mars et Avril, review from eFilmCritic, February 14, 2013
  7. ↑ Sci-Fi London 2013 Review: MARS ET AVRIL Deserves Greater Attention, review from TwitchFilm, May 8, 2013
  8. ↑ A funny and moving short film, BULB, February 20, 2015
  9. ↑ An animated fantasy feature film, BULB, December 2, 2013
  10. ↑ Martin Villeneuve: The Dreammaker, The Cozy Sweater Café, August 23, 2016
  11. ↑ The Other World (working title), BULB, September 5, 2014
  12. ↑ Martin Villeneuve's bio on TED.com
  13. ↑ Martin Villeneuve - Filmmaker, BULB, February 20, 2015
  14. ↑ Martin Villeneuve catches Hollywood's eye, CBC News, March 14, 2015
  15. ↑ Red Ketchup on the big screen, BULB, September 21, 2016
  16. ↑ 10 jaw-dropping images from the film “Mars et Avril,” and how the magic was created, article from the official TED Blog, June 7, 2013
  17. ↑ A sci-fi film with a $2 million budget: Martin Villeneuve at TED2013, article from the official TED Blog, February 27, 2013
  18. ↑ Quebec's first TED Talk, article from Cult Montreal, June 7, 2013
  19. ↑ 3 Things You Need to Make an Impossible Movie, article from Film School Rejects, July 1, 2013
  20. ↑ Making an Impossible Film: How Director Martin Villeneuve Brought His Sci-Fi Drama to Life, article from No Film School, June 14, 2013
  21. ↑ 10 talks about the making of movie magic
  22. ↑ Mars et Avril on GaiamTV, September 13, 2013
  23. ↑ Spend the weekend watching the impossible (and beautiful) Mars & Avril, review from io9, December 6, 2013
  24. 1 2 3 A futuristic tale of fantasy and desire, BULB, December 2, 2013
  25. 1 2 Imelda on Vimeo with English subtitles, September 8, 2015
  26. ↑ Quebec filmmaker gives a TED Talk, Martin Villeneuve on Bernard St-Laurent's show "C’est la vie" on CBC Radio One, June 16, 2013
  27. ↑ Benoît Charest: How music can set you free, BULB, December 2, 2013
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