Biography

Frequently uses a song by Radiohead in his films.

Graphic and realistic depictions of violence

Frequently collaborates with cinematographer Roger Deakins

Long establishing shots

Mature themes and content.

Doesn't use any music when he's editing, especially during the first edit of his films.

Denis Villeneuve was disappointed with his first two movies, August 32nd on Earth (1998) and Maelström (2000), so he took a nine-year sabbatical as a stay-at-home dad. He vowed to return "when I was ready to make a film I could be proud of", which was Polytechnique (2009).

He is a big fan of Christopher Nolan, and the admiration is mutual.

All-time favorite film is Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).

Abandoned an interest in science in college to pursue his love of filmmaking. Then studied film at Université du Québec à Montréal.

In contradiction and paradox, you can find truth.

[childhood memory of duck hunting] You go out at 3AM. In a small boat. You see the mist coming off the water as you wait in the reeds. You're with these men. It's so dark and quiet, and then there's this violence, the thunder of guns. I want to make a film about that one day.

I think they built Hollywood on the West Coast because they were always dreaming of a New World. When they arrived here, the only way to keep dreaming was to make movies. Film was the fourth dimension.

I was at the premiere of Prisoners (2013) and I heard two thousand people scream at the same time. I turned to my girlfriend and said, 'I love cinema!' It's the sharing of emotions together, and it's collective, It's one of the last communions we have.

[on the concept of boundaries, explored in Enemy (2013)] We all have multiple identities inside of us. I think it's about the power of subconscious and how our actions represent that side of the self - and who is really in control? The influence of the past on our lives and the strength of the past, is something that really impressed me and terrorized me because it means that we aren't totally in control of our actions. I think you can find power over it, but it's a process.