Director of
Les Roches rouges
Bruno Dumont is a French filmmaker who began his career with LA VIE DE JÉSUS (1997), shot in his hometown of Bailleul. The film received immediate recognition at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs in Cannes, earning a Special Mention for the Caméra d’Or, followed by the Jean Vigo Prize.
Dumont developed a distinctive style combining realism and avant-garde elements. He returned to the Cannes Competition with L’HUMANITÉ (1999), which won the Grand Prix and awards for its non-professional actors. In 2003, he made TWENTYNINE PALMS, a desert road movie selected for the Venice Film Festival. He won a second Cannes Grand Prix with FLANDRES (2006), a stark war drama.
Dumont subsequently explored religion and mysticism in HADewijch and HORS SATAN, before directing CAMILLE CLAUDEL 1915, starring Juliette Binoche. He reached a broader audience with the acclaimed series P’TIT QUINQUIN, followed by the comedy MA LOUTE, which screened in the Cannes Competition in 2016. He returned to the story of Joan of Arc with JEANNETTE (2017), screened at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs, and JEANNE (2019), which screened in Un Certain Regard and received a Special Mention. JEANNE also earned Dumont the Louis Delluc Prize.
In 2021, he directed FRANCE, a Cannes Competition entry starring Léa Seydoux as a prominent journalist navigating the worlds of media and fame while experiencing a personal collapse. His 2023 film L’EMPIRE, a science-fiction-inflected satire set on the Opal Coast, competed at the Berlinale and won the Silver Bear Jury Prize.
Films (selection): LA VIE DE JÉSUS (1997), L’HUMANITÉ (1999), TWENTYNINE PALMS (2003), FLANDRES (2006), HADewijch (2009), HORS SATAN (2011), CAMILLE CLAUDEL 1915 (2013), P’TIT QUINQUIN (2014), MA LOUTE (2016), JEANNETTE (2017), JEANNE (2019), FRANCE (2021), L’EMPIRE (2023)