Daniel Grou

Canadian filmmaker Daniel Grou - better known by his nom du cinema "Podz" - was a prolific and award-winning director for French-language television series in his native country while also earning a reputation for uncompromising and occasionally violent dramas like "7 Days" (2010), "10 ½" (2010) and "L'Affaire Dumont" (2012). Born in Quebec, Canada, he began his career as a prop master in the early 1990s before working his way up to assistant director on short films. By 1999, he was directing episodes of fantasy-oriented Canadian television series like "The Hunger" (The Movie Network, 1997-2000) and "Vampire High" (YTV, 2001-02). These led to assignments for series like the drama "Minuit, le soir" (Radio-Canada, 2005-2007), which earned Grou a Gémeaux Award - the equivalent of an Emmy from the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television - in 2006. In 2010, Grou made his feature directorial debut with "7 Days," a disturbing thriller about a bereaved father who subjects his daughter's killer to a week of unspeakable torture. That same year, he directed "10 ½," a drama about a social worker attempting to aid a pre-teen boy with violent tendencies through the Canadian group home system. The film earned multiple Genie award nominations in Grou's native country, including a nod for Best Achievement in Direction, and led to higher-profile assignments on television like the French-language version of acclaimed police drama "19-2" (Radio-Canada, 2011-2015), for which he earned a second Gémeaux in 2011. The following year, he directed his third feature, "L'Affaire Dumont," about a divorced father accused of sexual assault. Grou returned to directing for television, most notably for "Vikings" (History Channel, 2013-), and earned a Canadian Screen Award in 2016 for an episode of "19-2" before commencing on his fourth feature film, "Dave King" (2016). The drama was based on the award-winning one-man play "King Dave," about a violent gang member, by actor-writer Alexandre Goyette.