Jeunet, Jean-Pierre

(1953- )

   Director and screenwriter. Jean-Pierre Jeunet began filming short animated films with codirector Marc Caro, such as L'Évasion (1978) and Le Manège (1980), which won a César for Best Animated Short. Jeunet won a second César for Best Short Fiction Film for Foutaises (1989). With Caro, he directed his first feature, the highly imaginative and futuristic Delicatessen (1991), which won Césars for Best First Film and Best Screenplay. His next film, La cité des enfants perdus (1995) (codirected with Caro), is remarkable in its innovative special effects. Jeunet later worked with American actors in his direction of the science-fiction film Alien: Resurrection (1997). His next film, Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (2001), was an international blockbuster. It won him Césars for Best Director and Best Film and could be considered one of the later examples of the cinéma du look. Jeunet's most recent film to date is the World War II romance Un long dimanche de finançailles (2004), which, like Amélie, stars Audrey Tautou.