Director, Producer

(b. July 15, 1941 Montreal, Quebec)

First as a director and later as a producer, Denis Héroux extablished himself as a key figure in the evolution of Quebec’s film industry. While studying history at the University of Montreal, Héroux collaborated with Denys Arcand and Stéphane Venne on the first modern Quebec feature, and one of the first statements about Quebec’s changing society and moral outlook – a film about student life called Seul ou avec d’autres (1962).

From 1962 to 1968, Héroux taught history and wrote two history books while also directing films. Jusqu’au cou (1964) and Pas de vacances pour les idoles (1965) are both refreshing and free expressions of life in Quebec. By the late sixties, this commercially shrewd Montrealer had become one of Quebec’s first successful private industry filmmakers with the erotic hits Valérie (1968) and L’Initiation (1970), two films that initiated the cycle of "maple syrup porno."

In 1975, riding the success of several other popular features he directed, such as the swashbuckler Quelques arpents de neige (1973), he became involved in co-production projects and big-budget Quebec features. He went on to pioneer international co-productions with films such as Atlantic City (1980) and Quest for Fire (1981), and was a co-founder of Alliance Entertainment, a company he left in the late eighties.

Héroux, the older brother of prolific Quebec film and television producer Claude Héroux, is a recipient of the Order of Canada. His other honours include two Genie Awards for Best Motion Picture: Les Plouffe (1981) and The Bay Boy (1985). He also received an Academy Award® nomination for Best Picture for Atlantic City (1980).

Film and video work includes

Jusqu'au cou, 1964 (director; writer)
Pas de vacances pour les idoles, 1965 (director)
Cent ans déjB, La Feuille d'érable series, 1966 (co-director Alain Stanké)
Mais oj sont les Anglais d'antan?, La Feuille d'érable series, 1966 (director)
Un ville B vivre, La Feuille d'érable series, 1967 (director)
L'Amour humain, 1970 (director)
7 fois... (par jour), 1971 (director)
Les Acadiens, La Feuille d'érable series, 1971 (director)
La fille du roi, La Feuille d'érable series, 1971 (director)
Bureau des inventeurs, 1971 (director)
Transports et communications, 1971 (director)
Un enfant comme les autres..., 1972 (director)
Le MinistPre de l'Industrie et du Commerce du Canada, 1972 (director)
Le MinistPre des Transports du Canada, 1972 (director)
J'ai mon voyage!, 1973 (director)
Quelques arpents de neige, 1973 (director)
Y'a toujours moyen de moyenner!, 1973 (director; producer)
La Vallée-jardin, 1974 (co-director with Justine Héroux)
C'est jeune et ça sait tout, 1974 (co-delegate producer)
Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, 1975 (director)
Pousse mais pousse égal, 1975 (director)
The Strikebreaker, Sidestreet series, 1975 (director)
Born for Hell, 1976 (director; co-writer with Fred Denger, Géza von Radványi, Clement Woods)
The Little Girl Who Lives down the Lane, 1976 (co-producer with Zev Braun, Leland Nolan, EugPne Lépicier)
The Uncanny, 1977 (director)
Tomorrow Never Comes, 1977 (associate producer)
Violette NoziPre, 1978 (co-producer with EugPne Lépicier)
L'Homme en colPre, 1979 (co-producer with Alexandre Mnouchkine, Georges Dancigers)
A nous deux, 1979 (co-producer with Claude Lelouch and Joseph F. Beaubien)
Atlantic City, 1980 (co-producer with John Kemeny)
Mario, 1983 (co-producer)
The Blood of Others, 1984 (co-producer with John Kemeny)
Le Crime d'Ovide Plouffe, 1984 (executive producer)
Louisiana, 1984 (co-producer with John Kemeny)
L'Adolescente sucre d'amour, 1984 (co-producer with Justine Héroux)
The Park Is Mine, 1984 (co-producer with John Kemeny)
Hold-Up, 1985 (executive producer)
Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, 1985 (co-producer with John Kemeny; TV)
Le Matou, 1985 (co-executive producer with John Kemeny)
The Lonely Passion of Brian Moore, 1986 (appears as himself)
Boy in Blue, 1985 (producer)
Children of Poverty, 1986 (producer; TV)
Control, 1986 (executive producer)
Sword of Gideon, 1986 (co-executive producer with John Kemeny; TV)
Mount Royal, 1987 (co-executive producer with Robert Lantos; TV, 17 episodes)
The Jeweller's Shop, 1988 (co-producer with Stephane Reichel)
Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives!, 1989 (co-executive producer with Victor Loewy, William Stuart, James L. Stuart)
The French Revolution: Years of Hope, 1989 (co-producer with Thomas Schuhly, Bodo Scriba)
The French Revolution: Years of Rage, 1989 (co-producer with Thomas Schuhly, Bodo Scriba)
The Adventures of Smoke Bellew, 1995 (co-writer with Nicole Ricard; TV)
Eye of the Wolf, 1995 (editor)
Chercheurs d'or miniseries, 1996 (co-writer with Nicole Ricard, Gérard Bitton; TV)
Sands of Eden, 1997 (producer; TV)
Secret Society, 2000 (co-executive producer with Heinz Thym, Steve Christian, Guy Collins, Colin Pons)