Martin Villeneuve
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Martin Villeneuve is a Montreal-based screenwriter, director, producer and actor. He studied film production at Concordia University and graphic design at Université du Québec à Montréal. Martin began his career as a writer and graphic artist in 2002. His comic book "La voix du tonnerre" and his graphic novels "Mars et Avril" (volumes 1 & 2) were released to critical acclaim. Martin then worked for 10 years as a Creative Director in advertising, creating campaigns for several Cirque du Soleil shows including "Zumanity," "KÀ" and "Corteo". He also directed TV commercials for Cirque, in addition to music videos and documentary shorts, yet his first love always remained film.
In 2012, he wrote, directed and produced his debut feature film, Mars and April (2012), based on his graphic novels and starring Caroline Dhavernas of Hannibal (2013), and internationally renowned stage director Robert Lepage. This pioneering sci-fi drama received 10 nominations, including one for "Best Adapted Screenplay" at the Canadian Screen Awards, and toured in more than 20 festivals worldwide, starting with a world premiere in Karlovy Vary. Mars and April (2012) has been described by io9 as "one of the most beautiful, and immersive, sci-fi worlds ever put on film." The inventiveness of the film's production led to a TED Talk in Long Beach, California, making Martin the third filmmaker to receive the invitation - the other two being James Cameron and J.J. Abrams. So far, he is the first and only TED speaker to come out of Quebec. His TED Talk, Martin Villeneuve: How I made an impossible film (2013), has been subtitled in 33 languages and viewed over a million times.
In 2015, Martin won Union des Artistes' "Best Actor" award for his performance in his short comedy film Imelda (2014), in which he plays his own grandmother. Villeneuve shot two sequels to his short, released in Fall 2020; Imelda 2: le notaire (2020) opened the QCFF and won the Cinémental Award for Best Canadian Short Film 2020, and Imelda 3: Simone (2020) opened the FCIAT in front of a real audience despite the Covid crisis. His second feature film, Les 12 travaux d'Imelda (2022) - starring Robert Lepage, Ginette Reno, Michel Barrette, Anne-Marie Cadieux, and himself as Imelda - had its world premiere at the QCFF, and hit theaters across Quebec on October 28th, 2022. The movie was also screened at the 2022 Whistler International Film Festival, where it won the award for "Best Editing" in a Borsos Competition film. In 2023, Villeneuve won the "Best Actor" award at Dieppe's Canadian Film Festival, in France, for his role of Imelda, as well as the "Best Director" award at the Canada China International Film Festival.
Martin Villeneuve was the showrunner, co-writer, and director of Red Ketchup (2023), a dark comedy 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 during its broadcast.
In 2024, he was President of the Jury at Dieppe's Canadian Film Festival, in France.
In 2012, he wrote, directed and produced his debut feature film, Mars and April (2012), based on his graphic novels and starring Caroline Dhavernas of Hannibal (2013), and internationally renowned stage director Robert Lepage. This pioneering sci-fi drama received 10 nominations, including one for "Best Adapted Screenplay" at the Canadian Screen Awards, and toured in more than 20 festivals worldwide, starting with a world premiere in Karlovy Vary. Mars and April (2012) has been described by io9 as "one of the most beautiful, and immersive, sci-fi worlds ever put on film." The inventiveness of the film's production led to a TED Talk in Long Beach, California, making Martin the third filmmaker to receive the invitation - the other two being James Cameron and J.J. Abrams. So far, he is the first and only TED speaker to come out of Quebec. His TED Talk, Martin Villeneuve: How I made an impossible film (2013), has been subtitled in 33 languages and viewed over a million times.
In 2015, Martin won Union des Artistes' "Best Actor" award for his performance in his short comedy film Imelda (2014), in which he plays his own grandmother. Villeneuve shot two sequels to his short, released in Fall 2020; Imelda 2: le notaire (2020) opened the QCFF and won the Cinémental Award for Best Canadian Short Film 2020, and Imelda 3: Simone (2020) opened the FCIAT in front of a real audience despite the Covid crisis. His second feature film, Les 12 travaux d'Imelda (2022) - starring Robert Lepage, Ginette Reno, Michel Barrette, Anne-Marie Cadieux, and himself as Imelda - had its world premiere at the QCFF, and hit theaters across Quebec on October 28th, 2022. The movie was also screened at the 2022 Whistler International Film Festival, where it won the award for "Best Editing" in a Borsos Competition film. In 2023, Villeneuve won the "Best Actor" award at Dieppe's Canadian Film Festival, in France, for his role of Imelda, as well as the "Best Director" award at the Canada China International Film Festival.
Martin Villeneuve was the showrunner, co-writer, and director of Red Ketchup (2023), a dark comedy 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 during its broadcast.
In 2024, he was President of the Jury at Dieppe's Canadian Film Festival, in France.