Frédéric Dieudonné
Born (1969-09-21) September 21, 1969
France

Frédéric Dieudonné is a French writer, a filmmaker and a producer, environmentalist, and co-creator, with Jean-Christophe Jeauffre, of the Jules Verne Film Festival in 1992.

Frédéric Dieudonné and Jean-Christophe Jeauffre in 2009
The Jules Verne Festival launch in Los Angeles, October 2006. L-R: Ray Harryhausen, Harrison Ford, Malcolm McDowell, Jane Goodall, James Cameron, George Lucas. Front: Jeauffre and Frédéric Dieudonné

Education and early career

In 1986, Dieudonné graduated from high school and earned his Baccalauréat in Literature and Foreign Languages, with honours, at the age of 16.

He then was admitted at the Lycée Janson de Sailly of Paris, where he prepared for competitive entrance exams (Classe préparatoire aux grandes écoles) to L'École Normale Supérieure de la rue d'Ulm (Hypokhâgne and Khâgne). After earning a master's degree in Modern Literature, with honours, from the Sorbonne University of Paris in 1991, he founded the nonprofit Jules Verne Adventures the same year, along with Jean-Christophe Jeauffre.

Jules Verne Festival

In 1992, Dieudonné and Jeauffre launched the annual Jules Verne Festival in Paris, inaugurated by Jacques-Yves Cousteau. This event, later also based in Los Angeles,[1] is dedicated to exploration, education and conservation.[2][3] Then they developed a production unit to create new adventure and exploration programs for television. The Jules Verne Festival was held each year in April at the Grand Rex theatre of Paris, Europe's largest movie theatre, where it attracted more than 35,000 visitors and guests.

In 2005 Dieudonné and Jean-Christophe Jeauffre founded the American version of the French nonprofit Jules Verne Adventures. It is based in Downtown Los Angeles[4][5] and maintains an IRS 501(c)3 status. The inaugural American launch of the Los Angeles Jules Verne Festival[6] (October 2006 at the Shrine Auditorium) has celebrated the work of George Lucas,[7] Harrison Ford, Jane Goodall, and James Cameron, and attracted 6,300 attendees.

Filmmaking

From 1999 on, Dieudonné co-produced several films for TV via Jules Verne Adventures, including Devil's Islands[8] and Red and White.[9]

A five-month expedition on the Atlantic aboard the tall ship Belem led to his production of several documentaries:

Two fully illustrated books were also published after the expedition (Jean-Christophe Jeauffre (2003). L'expédition Jules Verne à bord du Trois-Mâts Belem (in French). Équinoxe. ISBN 978-2841353521. and Jean-Christophe Jeauffre (2002). Esquisses d'un voyage Amazonie-Martinique-Açores. Carnets d'ailleurs (in French). Michel Bez (illus.). Équinoxe. ISBN 9782841353460.).

In 2006, Dieudonné wrote, directed and co-produced theJules Verne Adventures]TV documentary Explorers: From the Titanic to the Moon, starring producer/director James Cameron and veteran Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

All of the aforementioned films are now being distributed in the US on DVD and Blu-ray with narrations by Sir Christopher Lee and Ernest Borgnine.

The latest expedition he produced for the Mars Institute and NASA is the Northwest Passage Drive (2009–2010): the first motorized crossing of the Arctic Sea. As an executive producer and a consultant, Dieudonné is currently developing both a feature documentary called Passage to Mars and a Science Fiction feature film to be produced in Hollywood.

Recognition

In 2014, Dieudonné was elected a Fellow of the Explorers Club, based in New York City.

References

  1. ↑ Anne Riley-Katz (June 18, 2007). "Jean-Christophe Jeauffre, co-founder of the 19-year-old French festival, said that the decision to come to Los Angeles was driven in part by the city's status as the entertainment industry's home, but for other reasons as well". Los Angeles Business Journal.
  2. ↑ Julie Riggott (October 17, 2008). "Jeauffre and Dieudonne first presented the festival in Paris in 1992, and it has since grown, attracting 40,000 people over the course of six days and becoming recognized globally as the most significant film festival devoted to adventure and exploration". The Los Angeles Downtown News. Archived from the original on September 9, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Frederic Dieudonne and Jean-Christophe Jeauffre co-founded the festival 19 years ago in Paris, where it has been a rousing success. Recognizing the U.S. market, they exported it to Los Angeles, and found an audience. The festival was a great addition to Downtown". The Los Angeles Downtown News. December 14, 2007. Archived from the original on January 3, 2013.
  4. ↑ Eric Richardson (August 13, 2008). "The space hosted its first group of local schoolchildren earlier in the morning, giving the kids from Normandie Elementary School a chance learn about conservation and the environment. "In this venue, every week, two classes of school-age children will open the Porthole and dive into the multiple worlds of our fascinating planet," festival co-creator Frédéric Dieudonné explained. "They'll be able to enjoy films, as well as meet and interact with filmmakers, conservationists, scientists and real-life explorers."". Blogdowntown. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  5. ↑ Julie Riggott (August 11, 2008). "The lounge is named the Porthole because "it symbolizes the idea of travel and exploration," said Dieudonne. "It's meant to make people escape their everyday life and get inspiration."". The Los Angeles Downtown News.
  6. ↑ Terry Keefe (October 25, 2008). "The event is put together and hosted by Frederic Dieudonne & Jean-Christophe Jeauffre, both filmmakers themselves, who come to L.A. each year to produce the event". The Hollywood Interview.
  7. ↑ Jeff Sneider (October 11, 2006). ""I've been trying to get to Paris to accept this award for years but I've been working on that 'Star Wars' thing," quipped Lucas. "This is an important festival for me because it's about larger issues than just making movies. It's about the environment, and that's always a more interesting kind of event to take part in."". Variety.
  8. ↑ Devil's Islands
  9. ↑ Red and White
  10. ↑ Whales of Atlantis
  11. ↑ Amazon Trek
  12. ↑ 100 Years Under the Sea
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