“Let’s hold on to our dreams, because together we can change the world. Anything is possible to those who dare, work and never give up“. It was with this statement that filmmaker Xavier Dolan received the Jury Prize for Mommy at the 67th Cannes Film Festival in 2014. This year, in his role as President of the Un Certain Regard Jury, he will be celebrating his thirst for discovery and passion for the talent of others.
It was an obvious choice: Xavier Dolan‘s cinema has found its maturity in the extremes of his director’s youth and audacity, those who open up the field of possibilities, who believe more in dreams than in reality, and give themselves the means to create. I’m delighted to be honored to return to the Cannes Festival as President of the Un Certain Regard Jury,” says Xavier Dolan. Even more than making films, discovering the talents of other filmmakers has always been crucial to my personal and professional development. This mandate will be an opportunity to dedicate myself, along with the members of the Un Certain Regard Jury, to something that is artistically essential: films, and their quest for truth.”
Xavier Dolan wrote, directed, produced and starred in his first feature film, J’ai tué ma mère, at the age of 19. Adapted from a short story he had written a few years earlier, the film was a master stroke, and was chosen to represent Canada at the Oscars.
In 2010, Xavier Dolan revealed all the facets of his talent by directing, art directing, costuming and editing his second film, Heartbeats, making his debut at Certain Regard at just 21 years of age.
Two years later, Laurence Anyways, also presented at Certain Regard, won the Prix d’interprétation ex-aequo for Suzanne Clément. This first Cannes award underscores Xavier Dolan‘s sensitivity to directing actors and actresses, with whom he maintains loyal and intense collaborations.
Mommy offers Anne Dorval and Suzanne Clément another exceptional score after the psychological thriller Tom at the farm. This 5th feature – the first in Competition – depicts the difficulties a single mother faces in raising her son. With emotion and poetry, it receives the Jury Prize from New Zealand directress Jane Campion, ex-aequo with Jean-Luc Godard‘s Farewell to language. With this choice, the Jury rewarded both the oldest (84) and youngest (25) members of the Competition, proving that originality is not the prerogative of youth, nor maturity the prerogative of experience. The following year, Xavier Dolan joined the Jury chaired by the Coen brothers at the 68th Cannes Film Festival.
His return to directing sounded like a new declaration of love to actors and audiences alike. It’s Only the End of the World, an adaptation of Jean-Luc Lagarce’s play, was awarded the Grand Prix at the 69th Cannes Festival. This fascination with acting is also evident in his next two films: My Life with John F. Donovan, and Matthias and Maxime, presented in Competition in 2019. After a few notable roles with other filmmakers, such as in Xavier Giannoli’s Lost Illusions, for which he was nominated for a César for Best Supporting Actor, Xavier Dolan made his first foray into series direction in 2022 with The Night Logan Woke Up.
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