Charles-Olivier Michaud

French-Canadian filmmaker Charles-Olivier Michaud earned critical praise for his debut feature, the wartime drama "Snow and Ashes" (2010), before helming a string of pictures about young people's coming of age, including "Exil" (2013) and "4 Minute Mile" (2014). Born in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, Michaud graduated from the Los Angeles Film School in 2008 and began work on his first feature, "Snow and Ashes," in 2010. The drama, which starred Rhys Corio as a war correspondent in search of a missing collaborator, earned Michaud the Grand Jury Prize from the 2010 Slamdance Festival, as well as a Genie for Best Achievement in Cinematography for Jean-François Lord. The following year, he returned with "Sur le rythme" (2011), a romantic drama set in the world of dance. In 2013, he traveled to the Dominican Republic to film "Exil," a potent drama about a young Haitian who travels to North America in search of his mother. Michaud segued briefly into television, directing a pair of episodes for the drama series "La galére" (Radio Canada 2009-) in 2013, before returning to features for "4 Minute Mile." The sports drama, which marked Michaud's first entry into American features, starred Oscar winners Richard Jenkins and Kim Basinger, as well as newcomer Kelly Blatz as a troubled young man with an untapped talent for long-distance running.