Biography
Early life and education
Henri Quenette was born on Septembre 12, 1986. He grew up in Châtenay-Malabry, a Paris suburb in France.
After graduating from high school, he completed a Bachelor of "Film Studies" and a Bachelor of "Mediation Culturelle" at the Sorbonne University in Paris, followed by a Master's degree in Film Studies in 2011.
His Master's thesis was on Hubert Sauper's documentary "Darwin's Nightmare" under the supervision of François Niney, a French philosopher, film critic and documentary filmaker.
He completed a Master's degree in "Documentary Film Studies" at the Aix-Marseille University in 2012. That same year he started making documentary films.
Style
Henri Quenette's work is characterised by strong social dimension. His films frequently center on unusual and atypical characters, witnesses to the changes of contemporary society.
One of his major themes is non conformism and human interest. His films touch on different lifestyles, political, cultural and social relations in urban and rural environments.
Career
He was part of the organising team of the 32nd Le Cinéma du Réel film festival at the Centre Pompidou in Paris in 2010.
At 23, upon graduation, he moved to Montreal, Canada, where he co-directed his first documentary with Laura Taubman, "A Tiny Drop of Change". The film "A Tiny Drop of Change" is based on the alternative lifestyles of Canadian citizens who have chosen to live according to their ideals and principals.
That same year, he worked as a cameraman and editor at the Center for Oral History and Digital Storytelling (CHORN) at Concordia University. His work at Concordia centered on documentaries based on the experiences of political refugees living in Montreal.
In 2013, he moved to San Francisco where he shot his second film, "Love Me Tenderloin", based on the lifestyle of four inhabitants of San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood. The Tenderloin is a neighborhood known for having prominent issues with drug addicts and homeless people.
He moved to New York City in 2014 where he made his third film, "Brawl in the Bronx", a film about the everyday life of the members of the Bronx Wrestling Federation.
He received the "Award of Merit" at the San Francisco Film Awards festival in 2015 for his movie "Love Me Tenderloin", also selected at the Cinema at the Edge Film Festival, at the Festival International du film documentaire en Cévennes and at the One Country One Film Festival.
Filmography
|
Year |
Title |
Post |
| 2015 | Brawl in the Bronx |
Director |
| 2014 | Love Me Tenderloin |
Director |
| 2013 | A Tiny Drop of Change | Co-director |