JEAN-MARC VALLÉE RECEIVES 2015 NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE AWARD

MONTREAL (Canada), April 9, 2015 – Canada’s National Arts Centre (NAC) is delighted to announce that it is awarding the prestigious 2015 National Arts Centre Award to Jean-Marc Vallée. An internationally acclaimed, Oscar-winning filmmaker, Mr. Vallée will be honoured during the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Gala at the National Arts Centre on May 30, 2015. The National Arts Centre Award, presented annually as part of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards, recognizes work of an extraordinary nature and significance in the performing arts by an individual artist and/or company in the past performance year.

Mr. Vallée has enjoyed a tremendously successful year. Fresh off the success of Dallas Buyers Club, his 2013 film that won 69 international awards (including three Oscars), Mr. Vallée directed his screen adaptation of Wild, Cheryl Strayed’s bestseller about her epic hike along the Pacific Crest Trail. The film was nominated for two Oscars, Best Actress (Reese Witherspoon) and Best Supporting Actress (Laura Dern).
“It’s a movie in which you can feel the spirit of the material infusing the filmmaker both as an artist and as a human being, and what results is that thing that occurs when even the simplest of songs sends sparks to the soul,” wrote Geoff Pevere in The Globe and Mail.

Mr. Vallée then went on to make Demolition, about a man re-examining his life after the accidental death of his wife. The movie stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Naomi Watts and is scheduled to be released this fall.

“Jean-Marc Vallée is an exceptional filmmaker whose powerful films have captured audiences and impressed critics around the world,” said NAC President and CEO Peter Herrndorf. “His body of work is exceptional, he has had an extremely impressive year, and the world awaits his future creations. It is our great pleasure to present him with the National Arts Centre Award.”

ABOUT JEAN-MARC VALLÉE

Jean-Marc Vallée is one of Canada’s most celebrated contemporary filmmakers, known for personal yet universal works of exceptional dramatic intensity and visual appeal. Hailed by audiences and critics alike, his films have earned him an international reputation. He launched his career with three short films—Stereotypes (1991), Les Fleurs magiques (1995), and Les Mots magiques (1998)—and made his feature debut with Black List (1995), a groundbreaking thriller that explored themes of power and justice.

His international hit C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005), both a tribute to family life and a celebration of difference, was distributed in over 50 countries and won 11 Genies and 13 Jutras. His historical drama The Young Victoria (2010), produced by Graham King and Martin Scorsese, depicted life in 19th-century England. His impressionistic portrait of the early years of the Victorian era won the Oscar for Best Costume Design. Café de Flore (2011), a highly imaginative return to the themes of family and difference, was selected for the Venice Film Festival and won Best Canadian Film at the Vancouver Film Critics Awards.

In 2013, Dallas Buyers Club, based on the true story of a homophobic cowboy afflicted with AIDS, won 69 international awards, among them three Oscars including Best Actor (Matthew McConaughey) and Best Supporting Actor (Jared Leto). In 2014, Mr. Vallée directed his screen adaptation of Wild, Cheryl Strayed’s bestseller about her epic hike along the Pacific Crest Trail in a journey of self-discovery. The film was nominated for two Oscars, Best Actress (Reese Witherspoon) and Best Supporting Actress (Laura Dern). His upcoming film, Demolition, is about a man re-examining his life after the accidental death of his wife. The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Naomi Watts and is scheduled for release in fall 2015.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE AWARD

The National Arts Centre Award recipient, chosen annually by a jury of NAC program executives, receives a cash prize of $25,000, an original work of art by Quebec-based artist Paula Murray, and a commemorative medallion struck by the Royal Canadian Mint. Previous recipients of the National Arts Centre Award are Albert Schultz, Sarah Polley, Denis Villeneuve, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Paul Gross, The Tragically Hip, Richard Bradshaw, k.d. lang, Rick Mercer, Marie Chouinard, Angela Hewitt, La La La Human Steps and its artistic director Edouard Lock, Cirque du Soleil, Mario Bernardi, Denis Marleau, Karen Kain, Jon Kimura Parker, Ben Heppner, Robert Lepage, Michel Marc Bouchard and Les Deux Mondes, and Gilles Maheu and CARBONE 14.

ABOUT THE NAC

The National Arts Centre collaborates with artists and arts organizations across Canada to help create a national stage for the performing arts, and acts as a catalyst for performance, creation and learning across the country. A home for Canada’s most creative artists, the NAC strives to be artistically adventurous in each of its programming streams: the NAC Orchestra, English Theatre, French Theatre and Dance, as well as the Scene festivals and NAC Presents, which showcase established and emerging Canadian artists. The organization is at the forefront of youth and educational activities, offering artist training, programs for children and youth, and resources for teachers in communities across Canada. The NAC is also a pioneer in new media, using technology to teach students and young artists around the globe by creating top-rated podcasts and providing a wide range of NAC Orchestra concerts on demand. The NAC is the only bilingual, multidisciplinary performing arts centre in Canada, and one of the largest in the world.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Rosemary Thompson
Director, Communications and Public Affairs
National Arts Centre
Cell: 613-762-4118
rosemary.thompson@nac-cna.ca