Martin Villeneuve

Villeneuve previously worked for Cirque du Soleil as an artistic director for commercials and films.

• Name — Martin Villeneuve • Birthplace — Bécancour, Quebec, Canada • Alma Mater — Université du Québec à Montréal • Occupation — * Screenwriter • film producer • film director • actor • art director • writer • Years Active — 2001–present • Relatives — Denis Villeneuve (brother) • Awards — Best Actor at Dieppe's Canadian Film Festival (France)

He studied Film Production at Concordia University and Graphic Design at Université du Québec à Montréal. In 2002, he received an award from the commercial creativity agency Sid Lee for the quality of his portfolio. In the years that followed, he worked as an artistic director with this agency and created advertising campaigns for several Cirque du Soleil shows, including Zumanity, KÀ and Corteo. He found the name for these three shows, as well as for Guy Laliberté's One Drop Foundation. When the agency (formerly known as Diesel) changed its name in 2006, Villeneuve had the idea for the anagram Sid Lee. He also directed TV commercials for Cirque du Soleil, in addition to music videos and documentary shorts.

Villeneuve began his career as a writer and graphic artist in 2002. He has created the comic book La voix du tonnerre (Les 400 coups, 2004), as well as the two graphic novels Mars et Avril (Sid Lee & la Pastèque, 2002-2006). In 2012, the feature film adaptation of Mars et Avril which Villeneuve wrote, directed and produced, was brought to the silver screen and released in Canada in Fall 2012. Mars et Avril toured in over 20 international festivals, starting with a world premiere at the 47th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Czech Republic, and received 10 nominations. Martin Villeneuve was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 2013 Canadian Screen Awards, and he also won an Imaging the Future Award at the Neuchâtel International Fantasy Film Festival in Switzerland. On February 27, 2013, Villeneuve gave a TED Talk about Mars et Avril. This event took place in Long Beach, California. Prior to his talk, the opening sequence of the movie was shown, as well as a three minutes overview of the steps leading from the green screen to the final images. Villeneuve's talk, "How I made an impossible film," was released on TED.com on June 7, 2013, and a month later was added to TED's movie magic list, notably featuring directors James Cameron and J. J. Abrams. His talk has been subtitled in 33 languages and viewed more than a million times. Since then, Mars et Avril has been sold to the U.S. and is available online. In 2014, Villeneuve made his acting debut in his short comedy film Imelda, in the role of his paternal grandmother, for which he won three awards, including the Union des Artistes' Best Actor Award at the 12th Prends ça court! Gala (2015). In 2016–2017, he directed the first episodes of the second season of Real Detective for Investigation Discovery Channel and Netflix. On August 3, 2020, a 14-minute documentary about Martin Villeneuve was released online. Directed by Jean Benoit, it features interviews with stage director Robert Lepage, illustrator François Schuiten, and filmmaker Denis Villeneuve. Martin Villeneuve shot two sequels to his short film Imelda, both released in fall 2020. Imelda 2: The Notary had its world premiere and opened the Quebec City Film Festival on September 16, 2020, and won the Cinémental Award for Best Canadian Short Film 2020. Imelda 3: Simone had its world premiere and opened the Festival du cinéma international en Abitibi-Témiscamingue on October 31, 2020, in front of a real audience despite the Covid crisis. He gave a one-hour storytelling masterclass for Goalcast, which went live on January 7, 2021. Villeneuve's second feature film, The 12 Tasks of Imelda, which he wrote, directed, produced and starred in, had its world premiere at the Quebec City Film Festival on September 9, 2022, before going into commercial release in 29 theaters across Quebec on October 28, 2022. It was also screened at the 2022 Whistler Film Festival, where it won the award for Best Editing in a Borsos Competition film. On March 26, 2023, Villeneuve won the Best Actor award at Dieppe's Canadian Film Festival, France, for his role of Imelda, and on August 31, 2023, he won the Best Director award at the Canada China International Film Festival. In 2023, Martin Villeneuve directed Red Ketchup, based on Quebec's cult graphic novels. Produced by Sphere Animation, this 20-episode animated series aired on Adult Swim in English and on Télétoon la nuit in French. Villeneuve also lent his voice to the character of Bill Bélisle in the French version of the show, which held the top spot on Télétoon la nuit and was part of Bubbleblabber's "Top 10 Adult Animated TV Series For 2023". In March 2024, he was President of the Jury at Dieppe's Canadian Film Festival, in France. On May 31, 2024, he paid tribute to his brother Denis Villeneuve, recipient of the Icon Award at the 12th Canadian Screen Awards. On June 15, 2024, he wrote a manifesto in La Presse regarding the reform of Quebec's public financing system in cinema. In 2026, he releases Old Crow, a "docu-sical" about Quebec trailblazer Louise Forestier, premiering at the Rhode Island International Film Festival, and at Montreal's CINEMANIA. Among other projects, Villeneuve is currently working on Imelda Strikes Back, a sequel to The 12 Tasks of Imelda starring Benoît Brière, Robert Lepage, Michel Barrette, Anne-Marie Cadieux, Martin Dubreuil, and Louise Forestier, in which he reprises the role of Imelda.

Martin Villeneuve is the youngest of four siblings, and the brother of filmmaker Denis Villeneuve.

• 2023: Red Ketchup (animated TV series, 20 episodes) • 2022: The 12 Tasks of Imelda (Les 12 travaux d'Imelda) (feature) • 2021: The Crab: Prelude to Aquarica (short) • 2020: Imelda 3: Simone (short) • 2020: Imelda 2: The Notary (short) • 2020: Once Upon A Time Martin Villeneuve (documentary short directed by Jean Benoit, featuring interviews with stage director Robert Lepage, illustrator François Schuiten and filmmaker Denis Villeneuve) • 2020: More of the World (music video) • 2019: It's Alive! (short) • 2016–2017: Real Detective, Season 2 (TV series, 2 episodes) • 2014: Imelda (short) • 2013: Martin Villeneuve: How I made an impossible film (TED Talks) • 2013: The Mars & Avril Experience (Making of) • 2012: Mars et Avril / Mars and April (feature) • 2011: Two Immortals: Prelude to Mars and April (short) • 2003–2013: Cirque du Soleil – Advertising & documentary shorts • 2002: Jouisseland by Jean Leloup (music video) • 2000: Chrysanthème (short)