Dumont, who was a philosophy teacher when he was young, is considered to be the most important and respected contemporary French filmmaker in the international cinematographic world. His work has even been compared with that of Luc Bresson.

The director has received considerable praise for the aesthetic quality of his films, although on several occasions he has said he is not interested in making beautiful films, rather he wants “to provoke the viewer.”

Hadewijch, his most recent work, won the FIPRESCI prize at the Toronto International Film Festival and was the official selection at San Sebastián.