# Jacques Audiard

Jacques Audiard (French:; born 30 April 1952) is a French film director, producer, and screenwriter. One of the most awarded French filmmakers in history, his international accolades include an Academy Award, two British Academy Film Awards, and three Golden Globes. He holds the record for most individual wins in the history of the César Awards, France's national film awards, with thirteen wins between 1995 and 2025 including three separate Best Film/Best Director/Best Screenplay trifectas, and won four prizes from the Cannes Film Festival.
After working extensively as a screenwriter since the 1970s, Audiard made his directorial debut with See How They Fall (1994), followed by A Self-Made Hero (1996) and Read My Lips (2001). His drama The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005) was seen as his breakout film, earning him a BAFTA and his first César trifecta, followed by a second for the prison crime drama A Prophet (2009), which earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. After Dheepan (2015), mostly in Tamil language and which won him Cannes' Palme d'Or, he made his English-language debut with the western The Sisters Brothers (2018) and his Spanish-language debut with the musical Emilia Pérez (2024), which won Golden Globes for Best Musical or Comedy and Best Foreign Language Film, and also earned Audiard an Academy Award for Best Original Song (for "El Mal") along with three nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

## Early life

Audiard was born in Paris, the son of Marie-Christine Guibert and Michel Audiard, who was a film director and screenwriter. He began his screenwriting career in the 1980s with films including Réveillon chez Bob!, Mortelle randonnée, Baxter, Fréquence Meurtre, and Saxo.

## Career

In 1994, he directed See How They Fall (French: Regarde les hommes tomber), a road movie starring Mathieu Kassovitz and Jean-Louis Trintignant. The film won the César Award for best first film and the Prix Georges-Sadoul. Two years later he reunited with Kassovitz and Trintignant for Un Héros Très Discret – A Self-Made Hero in English, adapted from the novel by Jean-François Deniau. In 1996, A Self-Made Hero won the Best Screenplay Award at Cannes and received six César Awards nominations. In 2002, Read My Lips was nominated for nine Césars and won three, for Best Actress (Emmanuelle Devos), Best Screenplay and Best Sound. His fourth movie, De Battre Mon Cœur s'est Arrêté, received 10 nominations at the Césars and won eight, among them the Césars for Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Film Music and Best Cinematography. He has won both the César Award for Best Film and the BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language twice, in 2005 for The Beat That My Heart Skipped and in 2010 for A Prophet, as well as winning the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival.
In 2009, A Prophet won the Grand Prix at Cannes and the BAFTA award for Best Film Not in the English Language, and was nominated for 13 César Awards, winning nine: Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and Most Promising Actor for Tahar Rahim, Best Supporting Actor for Niels Arestrup, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Production Design. His 2012 film Rust and Bone competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language and the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and won the BFI London Film Festival Award for Best Film. In 2015, his seventh movie, Dheepan won the Palme d'Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.
Audiard is one of the first filmmakers to participate in LaCinetek's project, a streaming platform where the films are curated exclusively from lists of favorites by acclaimed directors. Published on the platform's launch day, his list of 61 films notably includes Charlie Chaplin's series of comedies from both Essanay Studios and Keystone Studios. He has released some music videos, among them Comme Elle Vient by Noir Désir in which all the actors were deaf-mute and interpreted the lyrics of the song in sign language. The beginning of the feature (a sequence with subtitles) created a minor scandal; it displayed three women discussing politics who come to the conclusion that "it is better to be deaf than to listen to that".
On 2 September 2018, his first English language American film The Sisters Brothers had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
In 2022, a five episode special about Audiard's pre-production process was released by Télérama. It was revealed that Audiard was in development of a script adaptation of the opera libretto Emilia Pérez, this would mark the first time Audiard has written a film alone. Filming began in the summer of 2023 with Selena Gomez and Zoe Saldana. The film premiere at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2024. It later won the Jury Prize, and its female ensemble won the Best Actress award at the festival. It went on to be selected as the French entry for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards.

## Filmography
### Feature film

| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
| 1974 | Kisses Till Monday | No | Yes | No | |
| 1981 | The Professional | No | Yes | No | |
| 1983 | Deadly Circuit | No | Yes | No | |
| 1984 | Réveillon chez Bob | No | Yes | No | |
| 1985 | All Mixed Up | No | Yes | No | |
| 1987 | Killing Time | No | Yes | No | |
| 1988 | Saxo | No | Yes | No | |
| 1988 | Fréquence meurtre | No | Yes | No | |
| 1989 | Baxter | No | Yes | No | |
| 1989 | Australia | No | Yes | No | |
| 1991 | Swing troubadour | No | Yes | No | |
| 1992 | Confessions d'un Barjo | No | Yes | No | |
| 1994 | Dead Tired | No | Yes | No | |
| 1994 | See How They Fall | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 1996 | A Self-Made Hero | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 1998 | Norme française | Yes | Yes | No | Short film |
| 1999 | Venus Beauty Institute | No | Yes | No | |
| 2001 | Read My Lips | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 2005 | The Beat That My Heart Skipped | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 2009 | A Prophet | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 2012 | Rust and Bone | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2015 | Dheepan | Yes | Yes | Uncredited | |
| 2018 | The Sisters Brothers | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 2021 | Paris, 13th District | Yes | Yes | Uncredited | |
| 2024 | Emilia Pérez | Yes | Yes | Yes | Also co-lyricist |

### Television

| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Notes |
| 1984 | Black Sequence | No | Yes | Episode "L'ennemi public n° 2" |
| 2020 | The Bureau | Yes | Yes | Directed 2 episodes, wrote 4 episodes |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
| 1994 | Cannes Film Festival | Caméra d'Or | See How They Fall | Nominated | |
| 1995 | César Award | Best First Feature | See How They Fall | Won | |
| 1995 | César Award | Best Writing | See How They Fall | Nominated | |
| 1996 | Cannes Film Festival | Palme d'Or | A Self-Made Hero | Nominated | |
| 1996 | Cannes Film Festival | Best Screenplay Award | A Self-Made Hero | Won | |
| 1996 | Valladolid International Film Festival | Golden Spike | A Self-Made Hero | Nominated | |
| 1996 | Valladolid International Film Festival | Silver Spike | A Self-Made Hero | Won | |
| 1996 | Stockholm Film Festival | Bronze Horse | A Self-Made Hero | Nominated | |
| 1996 | Stockholm Film Festival | Best Screenplay | A Self-Made Hero | Won | |
| 1997 | Cesar Award | Best Director | A Self-Made Hero | Nominated | |
| 1997 | Cesar Award | Best Writing | A Self-Made Hero | Nominated | |
| 2002 | César Award | Best Film | Read My Lips | Nominated | |
| 2002 | César Award | Best Director | Read My Lips | Nominated | |
| 2002 | César Award | Best Writing | Read My Lips | Won | |
| 2002 | Newport International Film Festival | Best Director | Read My Lips | Won | |
| 2002 | European Film Award | Best Screenwriter | Read My Lips | Nominated | |
| 2005 | Berlin International Film Festival | Golden Bear | The Beat That My Heart Skipped | Nominated | |
| 2005 | Tribeca Festival | Jury Award | The Beat That My Heart Skipped | Nominated | |
| 2005 | Seville European Film Festival | Golden Giraldillo | The Beat That My Heart Skipped | Won | |
| 2005 | European Film Awards | Best Director | The Beat That My Heart Skipped | Nominated | |
| 2006 | Étoiles D'Or | Best Film | The Beat That My Heart Skipped | Won | |
| 2006 | Étoiles D'Or | Best Director | The Beat That My Heart Skipped | Won | |
| 2006 | Institut Lumière | Jacques Deray Prize | The Beat That My Heart Skipped | Won |
| 2006 | Globes de Cristal Award | Best Film | The Beat That My Heart Skipped | Won | |
| 2006 | Lumières Award | Best Film | The Beat That My Heart Skipped | Won | |
| 2006 | BAFTA Award | Best Film Not in the English Language | The Beat That My Heart Skipped | Won | |
| 2006 | César Award | Best Film | The Beat That My Heart Skipped | Won | |
| 2006 | César Award | Best Director | The Beat That My Heart Skipped | Won | |
| 2006 | César Award | Best Adaptation | The Beat That My Heart Skipped | Won | |
| 2006 | French Syndicate of Cinema Critics | Best French Film | The Beat That My Heart Skipped | Won | |
| 2006 | British Independent Film Award | Best Foreign Independent Film | The Beat That My Heart Skipped | Nominated | |
| 2009 |
| 2009 | BAFTA Award | Best Film Not in the English Language | A Prophet | Won | |
| 2009 | BFI London Film Festival | Best Film | A Prophet | Won | |
| 2009 | British Independent Film Awards | Best Foreign Independent Film | A Prophet | Won | |
| 2009 | Cannes Film Festival | Palm d'Or | A Prophet | Nominated | |
| 2009 | Cannes Film Festival | Grand Prix | A Prophet | Won | |
| 2009 | César Award | Best Film | A Prophet | Won | |
| 2009 | César Award | Best Director | A Prophet | Won | |
| 2009 | César Award | Best Original Screenplay | A Prophet | Won | |
| 2009 | Chicago Film Critics Association | Best Foreign Language Film | A Prophet | Won | |
| 2009 | David di Donatello Award | Best European Film | A Prophet | Nominated | |
| 2009 | Dublin Film Critics' Circle | Best Director | A Prophet | Won | |
| 2009 | European Film Award | Best Film | A Prophet | Nominated | |
| 2009 | European Film Award | Best Director | A Prophet | Nominated | |
| 2009 | European Film Award | Best Screenwriter | A Prophet | Nominated | |
| 2009 | French Syndicate of Cinema Critics | Best French Film | A Prophet | Won | |
| 2009 | Globes de Cristal Award | Best Film | A Prophet | Won | |
| 2009 | Independent Spirit Award | Best Foreign Film | A Prophet | Nominated | |
| 2009 | London Film Critics' Circle | Film of the Year | A Prophet | Won | |
| 2009 | Lumière Awards | Best Film | A Prophet | Nominated | |
| 2009 | Lumière Awards | Best Director | A Prophet | Won | |
| 2009 | Lumière Awards | Best Screenplay | A Prophet | Nominated | |
| 2009 | National Board of Review | Best Foreign Language Film | A Prophet | Won | |
| 2010 | Goya Award | Best European Film | A Prophet | Nominated | |
| 2012 | BAFTA Award | Best Film Not in the English Language | Rust and Bone | Nominated | |
| 2012 | British Independent Film Award | Best Foreign Independent Film | Rust and Bone | Nominated | |
| 2012 | BFI London Film Festival Award | Best Film | Rust and Bone | Won | |
| 2012 | Cannes Film Festival | Palme d'Or | Rust and Bone | Nominated | |
| 2012 | César Award | Best Film | Rust and Bone | Nominated | |
| 2012 | César Award | Best Director | Rust and Bone | Nominated | |
| 2012 | César Award | Best Adaptation | Rust and Bone | Won | |
| 2012 | Critics' Choice Movie Award | Best Foreign Language Film | Rust and Bone | Nominated | |
| 2012 | Globes de Cristal Award | Best Film | Rust and Bone | Won | |
| 2012 | Goya Award | Best European Film | Rust and Bone | Nominated | |
| 2012 | Independent Spirit Award | Best Foreign Film | Rust and Bone | Nominated | |
| 2012 | London Film Critics' Circle | Foreign Language Film of the Year | Rust and Bone | Won | |
| 2012 | Lumière Awards | Best Film | Rust and Bone | Nominated | |
| 2012 | Lumière Awards | Best Director | Rust and Bone | Won | |
| 2012 | Lumière Awards | Best Screenplay | Rust and Bone | Won | |
| 2015 | Cannes Film Festival | Palme d'Or | Dheepan | Won | |
| 2015 | Films from the South | Audience Award | Dheepan | Won | |
| 2016 | Lumière Award | Best Film | Dheepan | Nominated | |
| 2016 | Lumière Award | Best Director | Dheepan | Nominated | |
| 2016 | César Award | Best Film | Dheepan | Nominated | |
| 2016 | César Award | Best Director | Dheepan | Nominated | |
| 2016 | César Award | Best Original Screenplay | Dheepan | Nominated | |
| 2016 | Amanda Award | Best Foreign Feature Film | Dheepan | Nominated | |
| 2016 | Miami Film Festival | Grand Jury - Knight Competition | Dheepan | Won | |
| 2017 | BAFTA Awards | Best Film Not in the English Language | Dheepan | Nominated | |
| 2018 | Venice Film Festival | Golden Lion | The Sisters Brothers | Nominated | |
| 2018 | Venice Film Festival | Silver Lion for Best Director | The Sisters Brothers | Won | |
| 2018 | San Sebastian International Film Festival | City of Donostia Audience Award | The Sisters Brothers | Nominated | |
| 2018 | Louis Delluc Prize | Best Film | The Sisters Brothers | Nominated | |
| 2019 | | | The Sisters Brothers |
| 2019 | Lumiere Awards | Best Film | The Sisters Brothers | Won | |
| 2019 | Lumiere Awards | Best Director | The Sisters Brothers | Won | |
| 2019 | César Awards | Best Film | The Sisters Brothers | Nominated | |
| 2019 | César Awards | Best Director | The Sisters Brothers | Won | |
| 2019 | César Awards | Best Adapted Screenplay | The Sisters Brothers | Nominated | |
| 2019 | Almería Western Film Festival | Best Feature | The Sisters Brothers | Won | |
| 2020 | Magritte Awards | Best Foreign Film in Co-production | The Sisters Brothers | Nominated | |
| 2021 | Cannes Film Festival | Palme d'Or | Paris, 13th District | Nominated | |
| 2021 | Cannes Film Festival | Queer Palm | Paris, 13th District | Nominated | |
| 2021 | Chicago International Film Festival | Gold Hugo | Paris, 13th District | Nominated | |
| 2021 | Chicago International Film Festival | Gold Q-Hugo | Paris, 13th District | Nominated | |
| 2021 | Chicago International Film Festival | Out of Look Competition - Special Mention | Paris, 13th District | Won | |
| 2021 | Hamburg Film Festival | Art Cinema Award | Paris, 13th District | Won | |
| 2021 | Seville European Film Festival | Golden Giraldillo | Paris, 13th District | Nominated | |
| 2022 | Lumiere Awards | Best Director | Paris, 13th District | Nominated | |
| 2022 | Cesar Awards | Best Adapted Screenplay | Paris, 13th District | Nominated | |
| 2022 | Cleveland International Film Festival | International Narrative Competition - Best Feature Film | Paris, 13th District | Nominated | |
| 2023 | Polish Film Awards | Best European Film | Paris, 13th District | Nominated | |
| 2024 | Cannes Film Festival | Palme d'Or | Emilia Pérez | Nominated | |
| 2024 | Cannes Film Festival | Jury Prize | Emilia Pérez | Won | |
| 2024 | Cannes Film Festival | Queer Palm | Emilia Pérez | Nominated | |
| 2024 | Toronto International Film Festival | People's Choice Award | Emilia Pérez | Runner-up | |
| 2024 | San Sebastian International Film Festival | Sebastiane Award | Emilia Pérez | Nominated | |
| 2024 | San Sebastian International Film Festival | Audience Award | Emilia Pérez | Nominated | |
| 2024 | Mill Valley Film Festival | Audience Favorite ¡Viva el cine! | Emilia Pérez | Won | |
| 2024 | Denver Film Festival | Rare Pearl Award | Emilia Pérez | Won | |
| 2024 | New Orleans Film Festival | Narrative Feature | Emilia Pérez | Nominated | |
| 2024 | Hollywood Music in Media Awards | Best Original Song – Feature Film for "El Mal" | Emilia Pérez | Nominated | |
| 2024 | Hollywood Music in Media Awards | Music Themed Film, Biopic or Musical | Emilia Pérez | Won | |
| 2024 | Seville European Film Festival | Puerta América Award | Emilia Pérez | Nominated | |
| 2024 | Stockholm International Film Festival | FIPRESCI Best Film | Emilia Pérez | Won | [21] [22] |
| 2024 | Stockholm International Film Festival | Audience Award | Emilia Pérez | Won | [21] [22] |
| 2024 | European Film Awards | Best Film | Emilia Pérez | Won | |
| 2024 | European Film Awards | Best Director | Emilia Pérez | Won | |
| 2024 | European Film Awards | Best Screenwriter | Emilia Pérez | Won | |
| 2024 | Astra Film and Creative Arts Awards | Best Picture | Emilia Pérez | Nominated | |
| 2024 | Astra Film and Creative Arts Awards | Best Director | Emilia Pérez | Nominated |
| 2024 | Astra Film and Creative Arts Awards | Best International Feature | Emilia Pérez | Won |
| 2024 | Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards | Best International Film | Emilia Pérez | Won | |
| 2024 | Chicago Film Critics Association Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | Emilia Pérez | Nominated | |
| 2024 | St. Louis Film Critics Association Awards | Best International Feature Film | Emilia Pérez | Nominated | |
| 2024 | New York Film Critics Online Awards | Best Picture | Emilia Pérez | Nominated | |
| 2024 | New York Film Critics Online Awards | Best Director | Emilia Pérez | Nominated | |
| 2024 | New York Film Critics Online Awards | Best Screenplay | Emilia Pérez | Nominated | |
| 2024 | New York Film Critics Online Awards | Best International Feature | Emilia Pérez | Nominated | |
| 2024 | Indiana Film Journalists Association | Best Foreign Language Film | Emilia Pérez | Nominated | |
| 2024 | Indiana Film Journalists Association | Best Adapted Screenplay | Emilia Pérez | Nominated | |
| 2024 | Indiana Film Journalists Association | Original Vision | Emilia Pérez | Nominated | |
| 2025 | Palm Springs International Film Festival | Vanguard Award | Emilia Pérez | Won | |
| 2025 | Palm Springs International Film Festival | FIPRESCI Best International Film | Emilia Pérez | Nominated | |
| 2025 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy | Emilia Pérez | Won | |
| 2025 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Director | Emilia Pérez | Nominated | |
| 2025 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Screenplay | Emilia Pérez | Nominated | |
| 2025 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Motion Picture – Non-English Language | Emilia Pérez | Won | |
| 2025 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Original Song for "El Mal" | Emilia Pérez | Won | |
| 2025 | AARP Movies for Grownups Awards | Best Picture/Best Movie for Grownups | Emilia Pérez | Nominated | |
| 2025 | AARP Movies for Grownups Awards | Best Director | Emilia Pérez | Won | |
| 2025 | AARP Movies for Grownups Awards | Best Screenwriter | Emilia Pérez | Nominated | |
| 2025 | Critics' Choice Movie Awards | Best Picture | Emilia Pérez | Nominated | |
| 2025 | Critics' Choice Movie Awards | Best Director | Emilia Pérez | Nominated | |
| 2025 | Critics' Choice Movie Awards | Best Adapted Screenplay | Emilia Pérez | Nominated | |
| 2025 | Critics' Choice Movie Awards | Foreign Language Film | Emilia Pérez | Won | |
| 2025 | Critics' Choice Movie Awards | Best Song for "El Mal" | Emilia Pérez | Won | |
| 2025 | Lumière Awards | Best Film | Emilia Pérez | Won | |
| 2025 | Lumière Awards | Best Director | Emilia Pérez | Won | |
| 2025 | Lumière Awards | Best Screenplay | Emilia Pérez | Won | |
| 2025 | Alliance of Women Film Journalists | Best Film | Emilia Pérez | Nominated | |
| 2025 | Alliance of Women Film Journalists | Best Director | Emilia Pérez | Nominated | |
| 2025 | Alliance of Women Film Journalists | Best Screenplay, Adapted | Emilia Pérez | Nominated | |
| 2025 | Alliance of Women Film Journalists | Best International Film | Emilia Pérez | Nominated | |
| 2025 | Academy Awards | Best Picture | Emilia Pérez | Nominated | |
| 2025 | Academy Awards | Best Director | Emilia Pérez | Nominated | |
| 2025 | Academy Awards | Best Adapted Screenplay | Emilia Pérez | Nominated | |
| 2025 | Academy Awards | Best Original Song | Emilia Pérez | Won | |
| 2025 | César Awards | Best Film | Emilia Pérez | Won | |
| 2025 | César Awards | Best Director | Emilia Pérez | Won | |
| 2025 | César Awards | Best Adaptation | Emilia Pérez | Won | |

## Honorary awards

| Association | Year | Category | Result |
| Filmfest Hamburg | 2024 | Douglas Sirk Award | Honored |
| Morelia International Film Festival | 2024 | Artistic Excellence Award | Honored |
| Stockholm International Film Festival | 2012 | Stockholm Visionary Award | Honored |
| Telluride Film Festival | 2024 | Silver Medallion | Honored |
| Valladolid International Film Festival | 2013 | Espiga de Honor | Honored |