3 Films to Watch Before Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049

Hello, my name is Alyssia and I’m addicted to science fiction.

I’m also an avid admirer of Denis Villeneuve and, therefore, I have probably never been more excited to see an upcoming Hollywood blockbuster.

Blade Runner 2049, which stars Ryan Gosling, Robin Wright, Jared Leto, and, of course, Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard, takes place thirty years after the events of the 1982 classic Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott. Instead of trying to summarize the film for you (which is in theatres today), I invite you to discover three short NFB films that will certainly put you in a Denis Villeneuve inspired headspace!

Drux Flux

One thing is certain: I’m not the only Denis Villeneuve fan working at the NFB. As an avant-garde artist and veteran of animated cinema, Theodore Ushev also waltzed up and down the red carpet at the 2017 Oscars® thanks to his dark and poetic short, Blind Vaysha. After his return to Montreal from LA, Theodore told me:

“I respect Denis Villeneuve a lot. I really liked Arrival and I look forward to his Blade Runner 2049, because I’m a big fan of Blade Runner! I am sure he will surpass expectations.”

Inspired by The One-Dimensional Man by German philosopher Herbert Marcuse, Theodore’s animated short Drux Flux is an abstract criticism of modern society, and the supremacy of the machine.

oehttps://www.nfb.ca/film/drux_flux_en/

The Invasion of Space Lobsters

On a lighter note, Janet Perlman’s animated film is a humorous tribute to the B-films of the 1950s. Imposing alien creatures with aquatic appearances and unknown intentions unexpectedly land on Earth and find it difficult to communicate with humans… Does it remind you of anything? Curiously like the plot of Arrival, The Invasion of the Space Lobsters isn’t as deep, but it certainly is as memorable!

oehttps://www.nfb.ca/film/invasion_of_the_space_lobsters/

REW-FFWD

To conclude: Did you know that Denis Villeneuve’s very first professional production was an NFB production? After accompanying Pierre Perrault to the confines of Nunavut for the shooting of Cornouailles (Perrault’s last film), Villeneuve moved from the Arctic Circle to the Caribbean Sea to make REW-FFWD.

Offering a semi-fictitious, semi-doc short film about Jamaican culture, a photojournalist stranded in a dangerous neighborhood in Kingston, finds himself in the middle of a culture he doesn’t understand. You can see the burgeoning of Villeneuve’s bold style that became staples in his future films (notably Incendies and Prisoners, which won him international recognition).

oehttps://www.nfb.ca/film/rew_ffwd_en/

A young Denis Villeneuve during the filming of REW-FFWD in Jamaica. (Photo: NFB)

Denis Villeneuve’s filmography:
• 1994: REW FFWD (short film)
• 1996: Cosmos (segment “The Technétium”)
• 1998: Un 32 août sur terre
• 2000: Maelstrom
• 2008: Next Floor (short film)
• 2009: Polytechnique
• 2010: Incendies
• 2013: Prisoners
• 2013: Enemy
• 2015: Sicario
• 2016: Arrival
• 2017: Blade Runner 2049

Who’s your favorite filmmaker?

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