Mathieu Denis

Although he began his career as an editor of short films, it didn't take Mathieu Denis long to graduate to the realm of feature direction. The French-Canadian filmmaker put his heritage on display in movies like "Laurentia" (2011) and "Corbo" (2014), proving with these breakouts that his was a creative vision worth keeping an eye on. Mathieu Denis was born in Québec, and made a business of bringing his home province to life on the big screen. Denis entered the world of filmmaking as an editor, working on a number of shorts beginning with "Sortie de secours" (2002). Denis worked repeatedly with budding director Simon Lavoie, collaborating on such short-form projects as "Corps étrangers" (2004), "Quelques éclats d'aube" (2005), "Une chapelle blanche" (2005), and "À l'ombre" (2006). That same year, Denis experimented with writing and directing for the first time, turning out his own short film, "Le silence nous fera écho" (2006), which premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival. He followed this project up with another short, "Code 13" (2007), his first Toronto International Film Festival premiere. Afterwards, Denis leapt to feature writing and direction. He made his debut with "Laurentia" (2011), a project he co-directed with Lavoie, which told the story of a 28-year-old Montreal man's internal struggle with depression and identity crises. Denis' following film, "Corbo" (2014) tackled more ambitious subject matter, breaching the sociopolitical sphere of 1960s Quebecoise activism. "Corbo," Denis' first solo directorial feature, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.