Dominique Roland (born December 16th, 1966) is a French film director, producer, and screenwriter. He has been active in the film industry since 1998 and has directed a number of award-winning films, including "The Secret of the Grain" (2007), "The Beat That My Heart Skipped" (2005), and "A Prophet" (2009).
Roland was born in Paris, France. He attended film school at the Université de Paris VIII, and went on to study at the renowned FEMIS film school in Paris. While at FEMIS, he directed several short films and won the Prix Kodak for Best Short Film in 1996.
Roland made his feature film debut in 1998 with the drama "The Days of Vengeance", which he wrote and directed. The film was well-received at the Venice Film Festival, and Roland won the Ours de Bronze for Best First Feature Film. He followed this with "The Beat That My Heart Skipped" (2005), an adaptation of the 1970s James Toback film "Fingers". The film was a critical success, winning the César Award for Best Film and the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.
In 2007, Roland directed "The Secret of the Grain", which won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival and earned him the César Award for Best Director. The film tells the story of an Algerian immigrant who tries to open a couscous restaurant in the port city of Sète. The film was praised for its subtle and nuanced exploration of immigration and cultural identity in France.
Roland's next film was the crime drama "A Prophet" (2009), which won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival and the César Award for Best Film. The film follows a young incarcerated man of Arab descent, and it earned Roland his second César Award for Best Director.
Roland's most recent film is the drama "Something in the Air" (2012), which he wrote and directed. The film is set in the early 1970s and follows a group of French teenagers as they explore politics, art, love, and life. The film was a critical success and won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Roland continues to make films that explore issues of identity, politics, and family. His films are known for their subtlety and complexity, and he is widely regarded as one of France's most important contemporary filmmakers
