A leading figure in contemporary cinema, Claire Denis spent her childhood in Africa before studying film in France. After starting out as an assistant to Jacques Rivette, Wim Wenders, and Jim Jarmusch, she directed Chocolat (1988), which was selected for the Cannes Film Festival and nominated for a César Award. Her body of work includes sixteen feature-length fiction films, including *Nénette and Boni* (Golden Leopard at Locarno, 1996), *Beau Travail* (1999), *Trouble Every Day* (2001), *White Material* (2009), Un beau soleil intérieur (2017), High Life (2018), Stars at Noon (Grand Prix at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival), and Avec amour et acharnement (Silver Bear at Berlin, 2022). She served as president of the Un Certain Regard jury in 2010 and directed Le Cri des gardes in 2026. That same year, she received the Carrosse d’Or from the Society of Film Directors (SRF) in recognition of her lifetime achievement.
Photo: Claire Denis at the 2022 Berlinale © Elena Ternovaja - Own work - CC BY-SA 3.0