Julia Ducournau

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Julia Ducournau
Ducournau at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival closing ceremony
Born (1983-11-18) 18 November 1983 (age 40)
Paris, France
EducationLa Fémis
Occupation(s)Film director, screenwriter
Years active2011–present

Julia Ducournau (French: [ʒylja dykuʁno]; born 18 November 1983) is a French film director and screenwriter. She made her feature film debut in 2016 with Raw. At the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, she won the Palme d'Or for her film Titane, which made her the second female director to win the award as well as the first to win the award solo. Additionally, Ducournau also received a nomination for Best Director at the 75th British Academy Film Awards. Her films typically fall under the body horror genre.[1]

Early life and career

Julia Ducournau was born in Paris to a gynaecologist mother and dermatologist father.

London Film Festival.[10] Per David Fear of Rolling Stone, Raw is a contender for the "best horror movie of the decade."[11]

In 2021, Ducournau's sophomore feature

Blue is the Warmest Colour.[15] Additionally, Ducournau also received a nomination for Best Director at the 75th British Academy Film Awards
.

In 2022, it was announced that Ducournau will direct two episodes of series The New Look.[16]

Theme and style

Xavier Aldana Reyes categorizes Ducournau's films as "Gothic Horror Heroinism."[17] This is illustrated by "graphic body horror" shown in all of her films.[1][17] According to Ducournau, her "flesh fascination stems from her childhood" since both her parents are doctors.[1] Per Ducournau, the way in which her parents spoke about the human body growing up informed her artistic expression within her films. For instance, she outlines in an interview with The Guardian that "doctors have this very upfront yet distant way of talking about bodies and death."[1] Alex Godfrey, Guardian journalist, illustrates this "flesh fascination" can be seen through her "unflinching" use of the camera in Raw, with "unforgiving" closeups and "atrocities un-glorified."[1]

Ducournau's work has become known for being brutal and disturbing. In a screening of her film Raw at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival, two audience members reportedly fainted and were taken to the hospital.[18] Though her film generated a surprising response from these viewers, Ducournau remains assured in her representations of humanity through her filmmaking. The Independent's Jack Shepherd writes: "the director would rightly much rather the discussion around Raw centre on the question of what it means to be human".[18] In their interview, Ducournau herself states: “You have to accept some parts of us that are hard to watch, hard to acknowledge because it’s in us, because it’s scary."[18] Ducournau considers the title character of David Lynch's The Elephant Man as "the essence of humanity," which she takes inspiration from in her filmography.[18] In an interview with Vulture's Rachel Handler, Ducournau discusses her thematic interest in relating monstrosity to coming-of-age, suggesting that "the element of monstrosity in teenage years is incredibly enduring and real."[19] She takes inspiration from artists whose work centers around monstrosity: filmmakers like David Lynch and David Cronenberg, and authors like Mary Shelley and Edgar Allan Poe.[19] In an interview with Nicolas Rapold, she stated that she "likes to watch and make genre films that blossom from reality, from a place you don't expect".[20]

Ducournau also employs a hands-on approach to filmmaking. She exhibits technical expertise in camera techniques and control, as well as screenplay writing and storyboarding. For Raw, she wrote the screenplay and storyboarded the film's key shots.[21]

Ducournau is also very passionate about separating her gender from her craft and from her recognition in the film industry. In a conversation with Indiewire's Eric Kohn, she states, "When people say I’m a woman director—I mean, that’s always a bit annoying, because I’m a person."[22] On her historic Palme d'Or win at Cannes, Ducournau told ABC News' Jake Coyle: "Maybe we [are] entering an era where things would be more equal in acknowledging of the work of people beyond their gender."[23]

Filmography

Short film

Year Title Director Writer
2011 Junior Yes Yes

Feature film

Year Title Director Writer
2016 Raw Yes Yes
2021 Titane Yes Yes

Television

Year Title Director Writer Notes
2012 Mange Yes Yes TV movie;
Co-directed with Virgile Bramly
2021 Servant Yes No Episodes "Doll" and "Spaceman"

Awards and nominations

Year Title Awards/Nominations
2011 Junior Cannes Film Festival – Petit Rail d'Or
2016 Raw 2017
2021 Titane Cannes Film FestivalPalme d'Or
Toronto International Film FestivalPeople's Choice Award: Midnight Madness
75th British Academy Film AwardsBest Director (Nominated)

Other work

References

  1. ^
    ISSN 0261-3077
    . Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Film-maker Julia Ducournau: 'Women kicked serious ass this year'". The Guardian. 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  3. ^ "Julia Ducournau". La Fémis.
  4. ^ Fear, David (13 March 2017). "'Raw' Review: Cannibal Coming-of-Age Film Is a Modern Horror Masterpiece". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  5. ^ Debruge, Peter (3 January 2017). "10 Directors to Watch: Julia Ducournau Reveals 'Raw' Side of French Cinema". Variety. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  6. ^ Brown, Todd (12 January 2017). "RAW: Watch The Hypnotic And Grotesque Red Band Trailer For Julia Ducournau's Acclaimed Debut". Screen Anarchy. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  7. ^ "Red Band Trailer Revealed For Julia Ducournau's Directorial Debut RAW". Horror Cult Films. 13 January 2017. Archived from the original on 21 April 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  8. ^ Berger, Laura (16 January 2017). "A Vegetarian Transforms into a Cannibal in Julia Ducournau's "Raw"". Women and Hollywood. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  9. ^ "Grave". Semaine de la Critique. Archived from the original on 16 September 2016.
  10. ^ "Diversity Reigns at the London Film Festival Awards". What's Worth Seeing. 15 October 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  11. .
  12. ^ Rubin, Rebecca (10 September 2019). "Neon Nabs 'Titane,' Follow-Up Feature From 'Raw' Director Julia Ducournau". Variety. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  13. ^ "Julia Ducournau Becomes the Second Female Director Ever to Win the Palme d'Or". Vogue. 17 July 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  14. ^ "Cannes Film Festival: Titane wins top Palme d'Or prize". BBC News. 17 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  15. ^ Chang, Justin (26 May 2013). "Cannes: 'Blue Is the Warmest Color' Wins Palme d' Or". Variety. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  16. ^ Goodfellow, Melanie (15 November 2022). "Julia Ducournau Talks Next Moves After 'Titane', NYC Writing Residency & Working With Juliette Binoche On 'The New Look' – The Deadline Q&A". Deadline. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  17. ^ a b Xavier, Aldana Reyes (2019). "Introduction: Gothic and Horror Heroinism in the Age of Postfeminism". Revenant: Critical and Creative Studies of the Supernatural. 4: 8–21 – via Google Scholar.
  18. ^ a b c d "Meet Julia Ducournau, director of the cannibal film making audiences faint". The Independent. 31 March 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  19. ^ a b Handler, Rachel (5 October 2021). "Under Her Skin". Vulture. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  20. S2CID 257201082
    .
  21. .
  22. ^ Kohn, Eric (17 July 2021). "Palme d'Or Winner Julia Ducournau on Groundbreaking 'Titane': 'I Don't Want My Gender to Define Me'". IndieWire. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  23. ^ "Q&A: Julia Ducournau on bodies, cars and love in 'Titane'". ABC News. Retrieved 6 December 2021.

External links