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5 3 Denis Villeneuve is an Academy Award®- nominated French Canadian filmmaker best known for having directed Blade Runner 2049, Arrival, Sicario, Prisoners, Incendies and most recently, Dune. Villeneuve was born on October 3, 1967, and raised in the small village of Gentilly, located northeast of Montreal in Quebec on the St. Lawrence River. He was the oldest of four children. Villeneuve attended the University of Quebec in Montreal. He was a student there when he signed up for a Canadian television competition called La Course Destination Monde. Participants were given a camera and every week, were expected to shoot a five-minute piece in a different country. The competition lasted for seven months. Villeneuve won first place in the contest in 1991. Today, Villeneuve is one of the most respected and sought-after directors. His astute attention to detail and unique visuals has established him as one of the premier filmmakers working in film. Villeneuve was nominated for an Academy Award for his directorial work on the sci-fi thriller Arrival which also received eight additional Oscar nominations and one win. Blade Runner 2049 followed with five Academy Award nominations and two wins. I started in documentaries. I started alone with a camera. Alone. Totally alone. " " Dune, the highly acclaimed film adaptation of Frank Herbert's science fiction novel, tells the story of the son of a noble family entrusted with the protection of the most valuable asset and most vital element in the galaxy. The film, which stars Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, Charlotte Rampling and Javier Bardem, has received 10 Oscar nominations. Dune: Part 2 will be released in October 2023. "I started in documentaries. I started alone with a camera. Alone. Totally alone. Shooting, editing short documentaries. So, to deal with the camera alone, to approach reality alone, meant so much. I made a few dozen small documentaries, and that was the birth of a way to approach reality with a camera." – Denis Villeneuve