Bertrand Bonello

Bertrand Bonello (born 11 September 1968) is a French film director, screenwriter, producer, composer and actor. His work has been associated with the New French Extremity. He wrote and directed Something Organic (1998), The Pornographer (2001),Tiresia (2003), Cindy: The Doll Is Mine (2005), On War (2008), House of Tolerance (2011), Saint Laurent (2014), Nocturama (2016), Zombi Child (2019), Coma (2022), and The Beast (2023). He also starred in Portrait of the Artist (2015), and Titane (2021). He was nominated for the César Award for Best Director for Saint Laurent, and was named a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in France in 2015.
Early life
Bonello's background is in classical music, and he started playing the piano at the age of five. Later on he had a band, and then he discovered punk and rock music and switched from classical to pop music.
He became interested in films at the age of twelve by watching horror films from directors such as David Cronenberg, Dario Argento, George A. Romero, and Lucio Fulci. He decided to become a director after watching Stranger Than Paradise (1984) by Jim Jarmusch. Before working as a director, he worked as a session musician on tours and on records for other artists.
Career
His feature directorial debut, Something Organic, was screened in the Panorama section of the 1998 Berlin Film Festival.
His second feature film, The Pornographer, won the FIPRESCI prize at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. His third feature film, Tiresia, was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival.
Bonello was a member of the jury of the Cinéfondation & Short Films section at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.
His 2011 film House of Tolerance, a depiction of daily life in a fin-de-siècle Parisian bordello, premiered In Competition at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.
His 2014 film Saint Laurent, a biopic of fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, competed for the in the main competition section at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, and received ten César Award nominations, including Best Film and Best Director. The film was also selected as France's submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards.
In 2016, he released the thriller Nocturama.
Bonello was the president of the jury of the Cinéfondation & Short Films section at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
His 2019 film, Zombi Child, was screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.
His 2022 film Coma competed for the Encounters Award at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival and won the FIPRESCI Award at the festival.
Bonello's tenth feature film, The Beast, is a Sci-Fi romantic drama freely inspired by Henry James' 1903 novella The Beast in the Jungle, and had its world premiere in official competition at the 2023 Venice International Film Festival.
Bonello also owns the production company My New Picture, which produces all of his films since 2008's On War.
In April 2023, Love Theme Music released a soundtrack album featuring original music by Bonello that he wrote for his films.
Personal life
Bonello was in a relationship with his frequent collaborator, French-Canadian cinematographer Josée Deshaies, with whom he had a daughter who was born in 2003. Bonello's 2022 film Coma was dedicated to and inspired by his daughter. He lives between Paris and Montreal.
Filmography
As filmmaker
Acting roles
Awards and nominations
Decorations
Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (2015)
References
Further reading
Bernard Stiegler, "Tirésias et la guerre du temps: Autour d'un film de Bertrand Bonello," De la misère symbolique: Tome 1. L'époque hyperindustrielle (Paris: Galilée, 2004): 163–85.
External links
Bertrand Bonello on UniFrance
Bertrand Bonello on AlloCiné
Bertrand Bonello on Cineuropa
1968 births
Living people
French film directors
People from Nice
French male screenwriters
French screenwriters
French film producers
French composers
French male composers
French male film actors
21st-century French male actors
Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
French-language film directors