Jacques Audiard

Early life

Audiard was born in Paris, the son of Marie-Christine Guibert and Michel Audiard, who was a film director and screenwriter. He began his screenwriting career in the 1980s with films including Réveillon chez Bob!, Mortelle randonnée, Baxter, Fréquence Meurtre, and Saxo.

Career

In 1994, he directed See How They Fall (French: Regarde les hommes tomber), a road movie starring Mathieu Kassovitz and Jean-Louis Trintignant. The film won the César Award for best first film and the Prix Georges-Sadoul. Two years later he reunited with Kassovitz and Trintignant for Un Héros Très Discret – A Self-Made Hero in English, adapted from the novel by Jean-François Deniau. In 1996, A Self-Made Hero won the Best Screenplay Award at Cannes and received six César Awards nominations. In 2002, Read My Lips was nominated for nine Césars and won three, for Best Actress (Emmanuelle Devos), Best Screenplay and Best Sound. His fourth movie, De Battre Mon Cœur s'est Arrêté, received 10 nominations at the Césars and won eight, among them the Césars for Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Film Music and Best Cinematography. He has won both the César Award for Best Film and the BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language twice, in 2005 for The Beat That My Heart Skipped and in 2010 for A Prophet, as well as winning the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival.

In 2009, A Prophet won the Grand Prix at Cannes and the BAFTA award for Best Film Not in the English Language, and was nominated for 13 César Awards, winning nine: Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and Most Promising Actor for Tahar Rahim, Best Supporting Actor for Niels Arestrup, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Production Design. His 2012 film Rust and Bone competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language and the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and won the BFI London Film Festival Award for Best Film. In 2015, his seventh movie, Dheepan won the Palme d'Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.

Audiard is one of the first filmmakers to participate in LaCinetek's project, a streaming platform where the films are curated exclusively from lists of favorites by acclaimed directors. Published on the platform's launch day, his list of 61 films notably includes Charlie Chaplin's series of comedies from both Essanay Studios and Keystone Studios. He has released some music videos, among them Comme Elle Vient by Noir Désir in which all the actors were deaf-mute and interpreted the lyrics of the song in sign language. The beginning of the feature (a sequence with subtitles) created a minor scandal; it displayed three women discussing politics who come to the conclusion that "it is better to be deaf than to listen to that".

On 2 September 2018, his first English language American film The Sisters Brothers had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

In 2022, a five episode special about Audiard's pre-production process was released by Télérama. It was revealed that Audiard was in development of a script adaptation of the opera libretto Emilia Pérez, this would mark the first time Audiard has written a film alone. Filming began in the summer of 2023 with Selena Gomez and Zoe Saldaña. The film premiere at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2024. It later won the Jury Prize, and its female ensemble won the Best Actress award at the festival. It went on to be selected as the French entry for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards.

Controversies

''Emilia Pérez'' on Mexican representation

Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez faced significant criticism for its portrayal of Mexico. The film, a Spanish-language musical set in Mexico, was shot entirely in a studio near Paris with a predominantly non-Mexican cast and crew. Many Mexican audiences and critics found its depiction of their country stereotypical, reducing it to a landscape of violence, drug cartels, and gangsters, while using the real-life crisis of missing persons as a backdrop for musical numbers. Héctor Guillén labeled the film a “racist Eurocentrist mockery,” even calling on the Academy to take note of Mexico’s disapproval. In response, Mexican trans filmmaker Camila Aurora created Johanne Sacreblu, a parody that exaggerated French stereotypes, as a form of critique. Initially, Audiard seemed dismissive of the backlash, stating, “I didn’t study [Mexico] much. What I needed to know I already knew a little bit”. However, at a press conference in Mexico, he later apologized, acknowledging the concerns.

The controversy deepened on August 21, 2024, when Audiard stated in an interview with Konbini, a French digital media platform, that “Spanish is a language of emerging, developing countries, of modest people, of the poor, and of migrants”. Following further criticism, the director attempted to clarify his remarks, claiming they had been taken out of context and did not reflect his appreciation for the Spanish language or the cultures that speak it.

Filmography

Feature film

Only screenwriter

Short film

Television

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Jacques Audiard

Directed Academy Award performances Under Audiard's direction, these actors have received Academy Award wins and nominations for their performances in their respective roles.

Honorary awards

References

References

1. Arena, Stacie. (2022-01-21). "Jacques Audiard en deuil : sa mère, Marie-Christine Guibert, est décédée".
2. "2012 Official Selection". Cannes.
3. "Cannes Film Festival 2012 line-up announced". timeout.
4. Henry Barnes. (24 May 2015). "Cannes 2015: Jacques Audiard's Dheepan wins the Palme d'Or". The Guardian.
5. Rebecca Ford. (24 May 2015). "Cannes: 'Dheepan' Wins the Palme d'Or". The Hollywood Reporter.
6. Vincentelli, Elisabeth. (2020-07-29). "The World's Greatest Directors Have Their Own Streaming Lists". The New York Times.
7. "Jacques Audiard's list".
8. Tartaglione, Nancy. (25 July 2018). "Venice Film Festival Lineup: Welles, Coen Brothers, Cuaron, Greengrass, More – Live".
9. Rigoulet, Laurent. (24 January 2022). "À la recherche d'"Emilia Pérez" : le projet fou de Jacques Audiard".
10. Keslassy, Elsa. (23 January 2023). "Jacques Audiard Details His Selena Gomez-Starring Musical 'Emilia Perez' (EXCLUSIVE)".
11. (13 July 2023). "Actors Strike: Global Biz Braces for Impact as 'Gladiator 2,' 'Mortal Kombat 2' Prepare to Stop Filming".
12. Goodfellow, Melanie. (18 September 2024). "Oscars: France Selects 'Emilia Pérez' For Best International Feature Film Race". Deadline Hollywood.
13. Rose, Steve. (2025-02-05). "The rise and fall of Emilia Pérez: how did it all go so wrong for the Oscar-nominated film and its star?". The Guardian.
14. (2025-01-06). ""Emilia Pérez": las duras críticas en México a la película que cuenta la historia de una narco trans mexicana".
15. Brammer, J. P.. (2025-01-30). "Column: Forget 'Emilia Pérez.' Its parody, 'Johanne Sacreblu,' is the real work of art".
16. Juárez, Paola. (2025-01-30). "Jacques Audiard, director de Emilia Pérez, confesó que “el español es un lenguaje de países modestos”".
17. Mora, Por Luis Angel H.. (2025-02-11). "Jacques Audiard reacciona a críticas tras decir que el español es un idioma de pobres y migrantes: “No acepto que se me denigre”".
18. (24 May 2015). "Cannes Palme d'Or awarded to French film Dheepan". BBC.
19. Rebecca Rubin, [https://variety.com/2024/film/festivals/toronto-film-festival-peoples-choice-award-life-of-chuck-1236144461/ "Tom Hiddleston's 'The Life of Chuck' Wins Toronto Film Festival's People's Choice Award"]. ''[[Variety (magazine). Variety]]'', 15 September 2024.
20. "Sebastiane Award – Edition 2024". Premios Sebastiane.
21. (16 August 2024). "Trece títulos competirán por el Premio Ciudad de Donostia / San Sebastián en Perlak, que se inaugura con "Emilia Pérez", de Jacques Audiard".
22. Anderson, Erik. (16 October 2024). "'Conclave' Wins Top Audience Award at 47th Mill Valley Film Festival".
23. "Emilia Pérez". [[New Orleans Film Festival]].
24. (November 21, 2024). "'Emilia Pérez' and Hans Zimmer Are Top Winners at 2024 Hollywood Music in Media Awards".
25. Lang, Jamie. (11 October 2024). "Jeremy Irons, David Puttnam Join Sevilla European Film Festival Jury (EXCLUSIVE)".
26. "The winner of Peroni 0.0% Audience Award 2024 is "Emilia Perez"".
27. ""Emilia Perez" blev publikens favorit på Stockholms filmfestival 2024".
28. Richlin, Harrison. (7 December 2024). "2024 European Film Awards: See Full List of Winners".
29. (9 December 2024). "The 2024 Hollywood Creative Alliance’s (HCA) Astra Film And Creative Arts Award Winners".
30. Neglia, Matt. (8 December 2024). "The 2024 Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA) Winners".
31. Neglia, Matt. (8 December 2024). "The 2024 St. Louis Film Critics Association (StLFCA) Nominations".
32. Neglia, Matt. (9 December 2024). "The 2024 New York Film Critics Online (NYFCO) Nominations".
33. Neglia, Matt. (10 December 2024). "The 2024 Indiana Film Journalists Association (IFJA) Nominations".
34. Buenahora, Andrés. (30 October 2024). "'Emilia Pérez' to Receive Vanguard Award at Palm Springs International Film Awards".
35. Hammond, Pete. (26 November 2024). "Palm Springs Film Festival Lineup: 'Better Man', 'The Penguin Lessons', 35 International Oscar Contenders".
36. Wiseman, Andreas. (9 December 2024). "Golden Globes Nominations Revealed: Full List".
37. Lewis, Hilary. (20 November 2024). "Movies for Grownups Awards: 'Conclave' Leads With 6 Nominations".
38. Lewis, Hilary. (12 December 2024). "Critics Choice Awards: ‘Conclave’ and ‘Wicked’ Top Film Nominees With 11 Nods Each".
39. (12 December 2024). "Emilia Pérez domine les nominations pour les Lumières".
40. Neglia, Matt. (December 12, 2024). "The 2024 Alliance Of Women Film Journalists (AWFJ) EDA Award Nominations".
41. Keslassy, Elsa. (2025-02-28). "Jacques Audiard’s ‘Emilia Perez’ Wins Best Film at France’s 2025 Cesar Awards (Full Winners List)".
42. (3 September 2024). "Honorary Awards for Arnold and Audiard".
43. Film Festival, Morelia. (18 October 2024). "El FICM inauguró su 22ª edición con la proyección de EMILIA PÉREZ, de Jacques Audiard".
44. Jensen, Jorn Rossing. (2012-10-31). "Dafoe, Audiard and Troell to be awarded in Stockholm".
45. Ford, Rebecca. (2024-08-29). "The 2024 Telluride Lineup Promises "Cinematic Ecstasy"".
46. "Jacques Audiard".