François Girard (born January 12, 1963) is a French Canadian

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

and screenwriter from

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

. Born in

Saint-Félicien, Quebec Saint-Félicien is a city in the Canadian province of Quebec. The town is located within the Le Domaine-du-Roy Regional County Municipality in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region. Its population as of 2021 is 10,089. Geography The municipality i ...

, Girard's career began on the

art video circuit. In 1990, he produced his first feature film, ''

Cargo Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including trans ...

''; he attained international recognition following his 1993 ''

Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould ''Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould'' is a 1993 Canadian biographical anthology film about the pianist Glenn Gould, played by Colm Feore. It was directed by François Girard, with a screenplay by Girard and Don McKellar. The film is present ...

'', a series of vignettes about the life of

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

prodigy

Glenn Gould Glenn Herbert Gould (; né Gold; September 25, 1932October 4, 1982) was a Canadian classical pianist. He was one of the most famous and celebrated pianists of the 20th century, and was renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard works of Johann ...

. In 1998, he wrote and directed ''

The Red Violin ''The Red Violin'' (french: Le Violon Rouge) is a 1998 drama film directed by François Girard and starring Samuel L. Jackson, Carlo Cecchi and Sylvia Chang. It spans four centuries and five countries as it tells the story of a mysterious red-co ...

'', which follows the ownership of a red

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

over several centuries. ''The Red Violin'' won an Academy Award for Best Original Score, thirteen

Genie Awards The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scul ...

and nine

Jutra Awards The Prix Iris is a Canadian film award, presented annually by Québec Cinéma, which recognizes talent and achievement in the mainly francophone feature film industry in Quebec.Stravinsky's ''

Symphony of Psalms The ''Symphony of Psalms'' is a choral symphony in three movements composed by Igor Stravinsky in 1930 during his neoclassical period. The work was commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orc ...

'', '' Oedipus Rex'' and '' Novencento'' at the

Edinburgh International Festival The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially european classical music, classical music) and ...

;

Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It typi ...

's ''

The Trial ''The Trial'' (german: Der Process, link=no, previously , and ) is a novel written by Franz Kafka in 1914 and 1915 and published posthumously on 26 April 1925. One of his best known works, it tells the story of Josef K., a man arrested and p ...

'', adapted for the stage by Serge Lamothe at the

National Arts Centre The National Arts Centre (NAC) (french: Centre national des Arts) is a performing arts organisation in Ottawa, Ontario, along the Rideau Canal. It is based in the eponymous National Arts Centre building. History The NAC was one of a number of ...

, Ottawa; the oratorio '' Lost Objects'' at the Brooklyn Academy of Music; ''

Siegfried Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...

'' in Toronto; and '' The Lindbergh Flight'' and ''

The Seven Deadly Sins The seven deadly sins is a classification of vices used in Christian teachings. Seven deadly sins may also refer to: Art * ''The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things'', a 1485 painting by Hieronymus Bosch * '' The Seven Deadly Sins of Moder ...

'', first in Lyon and then in Edinburgh. Girard has also produced a residency show for

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...

, ''

Zed Zed is the pronunciation of the letter ''Z'' in Commonwealth English ("zee" in American English). Zed or ZED may also refer to: Entertainment Characters *Zed (comics), a character from the ''Hellblazer'' comic series *Zed (Kiba), the main chara ...

'', in Tokyo and ''

Zarkana ''Zarkana'' was a Cirque du Soleil stage production written and directed by François Girard. It began as a touring show in 2011 and was converted to a resident show in Las Vegas in late 2012. It premiered at Radio City Music Hall in New York ...

'', which opened at Radio City Music Hall in New York in the summer of 2011. In 2013, the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is oper ...

in New York opened a new production of Richard Wagner's ''

Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is an opera or a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is loosely based on the 13th-century Middle High German epic poem ''Parzival ...

'' directed by Girard. The production received near universal acclaim from critics and audiences alike. His television credits include '' Le dortoir'', '' Peter Gabriel's Secret World'' and ''The Sound of the Carceri'', one of the six episodes of '' Yo Yo Ma Inspired by Bach''.

Filmography

*''

'' (1990) *''

'' (1993) *''

'' (1998) *''

Silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the ...

'' (2007) *'' Boychoir'' (2014) *''

Hochelaga, Land of Souls ''Hochelaga, Land of Souls'' (french: Hochelaga, Terre des âmes) is a 2017 Canadian historical drama film directed and written by François Girard and starring Gilles Renaud, Samian and Tanaya Beatty. Dramatizing several centuries of Quebec h ...

'' (2017) *''

The Song of Names ''The Song of Names'' is a 2019 drama film directed by François Girard.

'' (2019)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Girard, Francois 1963 births Living people Film directors from Quebec Best Director Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners Grammy Award winners Canadian male screenwriters Best Screenplay Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners Canadian theatre directors Best Director Jutra and Iris Award winners Officers of the Order of Canada People from Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean Writers from Quebec