Jeunet, Jean-Pierre (1953- )

French film director and screenwriter. He achieved international success with the charming, quirky romantic comedy Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain/Amélie (2001), and followed with the ambitious World War I drama Un long dimanche de fiançailles/A Very Long Engagement (2004). Both films starred French actor Audrey Tautou.

His first major feature film was the science-fiction comedy Delicatessen (1991), a collaboration with co-director and designer Marc Caro. They followed with the ambitious dark tale La Cité des enfants perdus/The City of Lost Children (1995) before moving to Hollywood to direct the fourth episode of the science-fiction Alien series, Alien: Resurrection (1997).

Jeunet was born in Roanne, near Lyons, and was self-taught as a director. He began directing television advertisements in the late 1970s. He made several short films and won several César awards during the 1980s; shorts include L'Evasion/The Escape (1978), Le Manège/The Merry-go-round (1980), Le Bunker de la dernière rafale/The Bunker of the Last Gunshots (1981), and Foutaises/Things I Like, Things I Don't Like (1989). His trademarks include casting actors with striking features, such as Dominique Pinon (1955- ), and using stylized production design and cinematography with a heightened sense of colour.