Martin Villeneuve

Cirque du Soleil alumnus and TED speaker Martin Villeneuve is a Montreal-based screenwriter, director, actor, and producer. With a strong background in advertising, he has directed numerous commercials for Cirque du Soleil, in addition to music videos, short films, and series. His feature film debut, the pioneering sci-fi romance “Mars & Avril,” starred Caroline Dhavernas (“Hannibal”) and internationally renowned stage director Robert Lepage. Remarkably, the film was produced on a budget of only $2.3 million CAD. “Mars & Avril” received 10 nominations, including one for Best Adapted Screenplay at the Canadian Screen Awards, and was showcased in over 20 festivals worldwide, starting with its World Premiere in Karlovy Vary. io9 described it as “one of the most beautiful, and immersive, sci-fi worlds ever put on film.” Villeneuve’s success with “Mars & Avril” led to his TED Talk, making him the first (and so far, the only) speaker from Quebec, and the third filmmaker to give a TED Talk after James Cameron and J.J. Abrams. His talk has been subtitled in 33 languages and viewed over a million times. In 2015, Villeneuve won an award for his performance in his short comedy film “Imelda,” for which he shot two sequels released in 2020. His second feature film, the dramedy “The 12 Tasks of Imelda,” featuring Robert Lepage, Ginette Reno, Michel Barrette, Anne-Marie Cadieux, and himself as Imelda, premiered at the QCFF and was released in Quebec theaters on October 28, 2022. The film also screened at the 2022 Whistler Film Festival, where it won the award for Best Editing in a Borsos Competition film. In 2023, Villeneuve received the Best Actor award at Dieppe’s Canadian Film Festival, in France, and the Best Director award at the Canada China International Film Festival. In 2023, Villeneuve served as showrunner, co-writer, and director of “Red Ketchup,” 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. He also voiced the character of Bill Bélisle in the French version, which held the top spot on Télétoon la nuit during its broadcast. Among other projects, he is set to direct “Merciless,” a supernatural revenge thriller written by Frank Hannah, starring Jonathan Majors. Martin Villeneuve is repped by Gersh Agency and The Characters Talent Agency.