LOS ANGELES - Director Denis Villeneuve will receive the Cinema Audio Society’s (www.cinemaaudiosociety.org) Filmmaker of the Year Award at the 61st CAS Awards, set to take place at The Beverly Hilton on Saturday, February 22, 2025. Villeneuve is an Academy Award-nominated French-Canadian filmmaker whose astute attention to detail and unique visuals have established him as one of the premier directors working today.
"Denis Villeneuve is a trailblazer in the world of cinema, and it is with great excitement that we honor him with the 2025 CAS Filmmaker Award,” says CAS president, Peter Kurland. “Villeneuve has an exceptional ability to intertwine storytelling, sound and visuals, crafting immersive experiences that linger in the minds of audiences long after the final frame. We celebrate his remarkable contributions to film, as he continuously challenges the status quo and redefines what is possible in storytelling.”
“I am truly honored to receive the CAS Filmmaker Award," adds the filmmaker. "This is especially meaningful to me because sound has always been at the core of my storytelling. It’s a powerful tool of expression that keeps fascinating me. It’s what makes us experience moving images through common wavelengths. Furthermore, the immersive power of cinematic sound design and sound dubbing is truly unparalleled when it comes to the theatrical experience. I have been fortunate to work with masters throughout my journey in Hollywood. I am fully aware that I owe them tremendously. I look forward to celebrating the art of sound with all the artists who contribute to its evolution and success.”
Dune: Part One, which began Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s celebrated science fiction novel, premiered in October 2021. It garnered six Academy Awards, multiple nominations from the Critics’ Choice Awards, Producers Guild, Directors Guild, Writers Guild and BAFTA, and was recognized by AFI and NBR for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Dune: Part Two, its monumental continuation, was released to critical acclaim earlier this year. Villeneuve’s filmography also includes Blade Runner 2049, Arrival, Sicario, Prisoners, Enemy and Incendies.
This marks the 20th year that the Cinema Audio Society has honored a distinguished filmmaker with this award. Past recipients include J.J. Abrams, Alejandro González Iñárritu, George Clooney, Steven Spielberg and Quentin Tarantino. The CAS Awards will also honor multi-award-winning re-recording sound mixer Tod A. Maitland, CAS, with the prestigious Career Achievement Award.