Years active 2011–present Name Hugues Gentillon | Role Film director Movies Love Me Haiti | |
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Full Name Hugues Gentillon Education Marie-Yolene, Petit Seminaire College Saint-Martial, College Roger Anglade, Miami Dade College, University of Florida, Barry University, American University of the Caribbean, New York Film Academy, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Medical University of Lodz, Academy of Art University, Folkuniversitetet Alma mater Academy of Art University, Medical University of Lodz, Miami Dade College, University of Florida, College Roger Anglade Occupation Filmmaker, medical researcher, conceptual artist, philanthropist Awards MPAH Best Short Film 2014, INTERSTUDENT 2014: Best Int'l Student in Poland Residence Tortuga, Haiti, Haiti, Hispaniola People also search for Aurelia Khazan, Pierre-Louis Dieufaite, Deoud Gentillon, Francois Meknes, Jean-Mary Volney | ||
Hugues Gentillon (born December 17, 1974), is a Haitian film director, screenwriter, producer, physician-scientist, entrepreneur, conceptual artist, philanthropist, and founder of Yugy Pictures Entertainment, a film production company based in the USA.
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Gentillon holds dual Haitian-U.S. citizenship and studies in Europe. He reveals the convenience of being able to travel the world with an American passport. Nevertheless, he also shows his pride for his native country with the film Love Me Haiti, which won the 2014 Haitian Oscar.
Gentillon's MFA thesis film got distribution deals right after graduation. His embellishment of the properties and characterization of the protagonist and proper cast paid off. Gentillon selected, directed and ensured that French actress Aurelia Khazan's interpretation of the character Jeudi Forstner fits in with the nuances of the overall picture to bring together the story and that the story is told in line with his vision – making French actress Aurelia Khazan won Best Interpretation Award/Unesco Prize for Peace.
Early life
Gentillon grew up in Port-au-Prince, on the island of Haiti. Gentillon's mother was born on the northwest peninsula of Haiti, and his father came from the southwest peninsula of the country. His parents were both entrepreneurs and thus could afford to place him at Marie-Yolène preschool, at age 4.
From 1980 to 1991, Gentillon attended the Petit Séminaire Collège Saint-Martial, an all-boy catholic institution, where he particularly excelled himself in the areas of history, arts-&-humanities, languages, theology, math, and natural sciences like astrophysics.
From 1985, Gentillon began traveling to Florida every summer vacation to visit his relatives and to study English.
In 1991, Gentillon's parents transferred him to Roger-Anglade catholic school, where he successfully completed "Baccalauréat 1 & 2" with focus in math and science.
After High school, he was further educated in the USA and in Europe.
Career
Gentillon career in cinema blasted off like a rocket with the screening of his MFA thesis film Love Me Haiti at popular events such as Festival de Cannes, Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF), Boston Cinema/Motion Pictures Association of Haiti (MPAH), and Bahamas International Film Festival.
Being a newcomer, his first professional film got a lot of media attention, especially in Cannes and in Zanzibar. His notability is growing rapidly because of the subject matter of Love Me Haiti. Gentillon won the 2014 Interstudent special award, and his film Love Me Haiti won the 2014 MPAH award for Best Short Film.
In 2014, Martin Mhando, ZIFF festival director, had especially planned a press interview with Gentillon, South African actress Terry Pheto, and Kenyan Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o to talk about the common denominator between Love Me Haiti, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, and 12 Years a Slave. Unfortunately, Nyong'o did not show up due to bomb terror attack in Zanzibar the week before the interview. The festival program was partly disrupted. Only Gentillon and actress Terry Pheto were interviewed.
Gentillon attended the Festival de Cannes 2015, where he promoted and pre-marketed his swashbuckler film The Pearl of Wisdom. He conceived and wrote the screenplay in Łódź, Poland. The Pearl of Wisdom is a fictional film, loosely inspired by a series of events that took place during the Age of Reason (1600-1800). The story enfolds around privateers and maroons who turn into outlaw pirates - during the conflict between British and French Empire over overseas territories in the New World. Gentillon officially announced the film in April 2015 on his Facebook page. A casting call was posted on Backstage. The Pearl of Wisdom is another female-focused film by Gentillon. The superhero in The Pearl of Wisdom is Tiya de Tortuga - a woman who rallies scattered pirates and hatches an ambitious plot to take over the Caribbean archipelago.