Bertrand Bonello (; born 11 September 1968) is a French

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

, screenwriter, producer and composer. His background is in classical music, and he lives between

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. His work has also been associated with the

New French Extremity New French Extremity (New French Extremism or, informally, New French Extreme) is a term coined by ''Artforum'' critic James Quandt for a collection of transgressive films by French directors at the turn of the 21st century. Also available othe ...

Career

His directorial debut ''

The Pornographer ''The Pornographer'' (french: Le Pornographe) is a 2001 erotic drama film written and directed by Bertrand Bonello, who co-wrote the music score with Laurie Markovitch. The film features an explicit sex scene with two pornographic actors, Ovidie ...

'' won the

FIPRESCI The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...

prize at the

2001 Cannes Film Festival The 54th Cannes Film Festival started on 14 May and ran until 20 May 2001. Norwegian actress and director Liv Ullmann was the Jury President. The Palme d'Or went to the Italian film ''The Son's Room'' by Nanni Moretti. The festival opened with ...

. His next effort ''

Tiresia ''Tiresia'' is a 2003 French film directed by Bertrand Bonello and written by Bonello and Luca Fazzi. Based on the legend of Tiresias, it tells of a Trans woman, transgender woman who is kidnapped by a man and left to die in the woods. She is the ...

'' was nominated for the

Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

at the

2003 Cannes Film Festival The 56th Cannes Film Festival started on 14 May and ran until 25 May 2003. French opera and theatre director, filmmaker, actor and producer Patrice Chéreau was the President of the Jury. The Palme d'Or went to the American film ''Elephant'' by G ...

. His film ''

House of Tolerance ''House of Tolerance'' (french: L'Apollonide: Souvenirs de la maison close, also known as ''House of Pleasures'') is 2011 French drama film written and directed by Bertrand Bonello, starring Hafsia Herzi, Céline Sallette, Jasmine Trinca, Adèl ...

'', a depiction of daily life in a fin-de-siècle Parisian

bordello A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub pa ...

, premiered In Competition at the

2011 Cannes Film Festival The 64th Cannes Film Festival was held from 11 to 22 May 2011. American actor Robert De Niro served as the president of the jury for the main competition and French filmmaker Michel Gondry headed the jury for the short film competition. South Ko ...

. His 2014 film '' Saint Laurent'', a biopic of fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, competed for the Palme d'Or in the main competition section at the

2014 Cannes Film Festival The 67th Cannes Film Festival was held from 14 to 25 May 2014. New Zealand film director Jane Campion was the head of the jury for the main competition section. The Palme d'Or was awarded to the Turkish film '' Winter Sleep'' directed by Nuri Bi ...

, and received ten

César Award Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt * César Award, a French film award Places * Cesar, Portugal * C ...

nominations, including

Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

and

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

. The film was also selected as France's submission for the

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

at the

87th Academy Awards The 87th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best 2014 in film, films of 2014 and took place on February 22, 2015, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, ...

. His 2022 film ''

Coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...

'' competed for the Encounters Award at the

72nd Berlin International Film Festival The 72nd annual Berlin International Film Festival, usually called the Berlinale took place from 10 to 20 February 2022 in person. On 15 December 2021 the first film of the festival was announced. The festival opened with François Ozon's drama ...

and won the FIPRESCI Award at the festival. His forthcoming film, '' The Beast'', is a

Sci-Fi Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universe ...

romantic drama freely inspired by

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

' 1903 novella '' The Beast in the Jungle'', and it is expected to be released in 2023. Bonello also owns the production company My New Picture, which produces all of his films since 2008's ''On War''.

Personal life

Bonello was in a relationship with his frequent collaborator, French-Canadian cinematographer

Josée Deshaies Josée Deshaies is a French-Canadian cinematographer. She is known for her frequent collaborations with filmmaker Bertrand Bonello. She has been nominated twice for the César Award for Best Cinematography The following are the winners of the ...

, with whom he had a daughter in 2003. Bonello's 2022 film ''

'' was dedicated to and inspired by his daughter.

Filmography

Acting roles

Awards and nominations

; Berlin Film Festival ; Brussels International Film Festival ; Cannes Film Festival ; César Awards ; Lumières Awards ; Miami Film Festival ; Palm Springs International Film Festival ;Prix Henri-Langlois ; Prix Louis-Delluc ; Toronto Film Festival

Decorations

Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and letters, Arts and Letters) is an Order (distinction), order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Ministry of Culture (France), Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the w ...

(2015)

References

External links

*
Bertrand Bonello
on UniFrance
Bertrand Bonello
on AlloCiné
Bertrand Bonello
on

Cineuropa The MEDIA sub-programme of Creative Europe or simply Creative Europe MEDIA (formerly The MEDIA Programme of the European Union) is designed to support the European film and audiovisual industries. Budget The goal of programmers is to increase the ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonello, Bertrand 1968 births Living people French film directors People from Nice French male screenwriters French screenwriters French film producers French composers French male composers French male film actors 21st-century French male actors Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres French-language film directors